WATCH | Court upholds Eskom’s disconnection drive
As part of efforts to find a solution, Eskom previously proposed installing a temporary bulk electricity supply point at the edge of the trust’s land.
An urgent court application to stop Eskom from disconnecting and dismantling illegal electricity infrastructure in the Lion Park area was dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday afternoon, allowing the power utility to continue its operations on Thursday.
The application was brought by the Azibuye Emasisweni Amaqamu Community Trust, which administers the communal land where the operation is taking place.
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The ruling cleared the way for Eskom to continue removing an extensive electricity network that was illegally constructed and connected to its grid without authorization.
The network consists of electricity poles, overhead conductors, cables, and other distribution infrastructure that closely resembles a formal electricity reticulation system.
Eskom says the infrastructure does not comply with safety standards and poses a risk to the public and the national grid. Eskom’s senior manager for customer services in KwaZulu-Natal, Dadewabo Mbele, said the operation resumed after the court dismissed the application.
Even though we started a bit later than anticipated because of that interdict, we overcame that, and we were able to push and remove illegal infrastructure.
“We were able to finish off the day with quite a bit of success with the support of the SAPS that are still present today [Thursday] and the security detail that is also present today [Thursday],” said Mbele.
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On Thursday, Mbele said teams had started earlier, covered more ground, and moved into a different section of the settlement.
“We started off a little bit earlier than Wednesday and had covered a bit of ground, and we are quite pleased with what we have covered so far.”
She said the sophisticated nature of the illegal network makes it appear legitimate.
To the naked eye, these installations look legal. We are taking down the conductors and cables because they are illegal. These people spent a lot of money to have these installations. From the work that we do internally at Eskom, when we erect infrastructure, we do know what is involved.
“It is extensive work that this community has done to put up these illegal structures,” she said.
She said the operation forms part of its campaign to curb illegal electricity connections across KwaZulu-Natal, warning that unauthorised connections overload the network, damage infrastructure, cause outages, and pose serious safety risks.
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On Wednesday, when the operation commenced, it was met with resistance from some residents and community leaders, who argued that the community had long been without a formal electricity supply, despite numerous appeals to the power utility.
As part of efforts to find a solution, Eskom previously proposed installing a temporary bulk electricity supply point at the edge of the trust’s land, subject to the payment of a deposit.
Mbele said the trust was last engaged on the proposal in 2025.
“The trust was given a quotation for the installation of the bulk supply in September last year. They have not returned to indicate their intention, so the installation project cannot go ahead without their approval,” she said.
Mkhambathini Mayor Nhlakanipho Ntombela said the failed court application was a devastating blow for the Lion Park community.
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He said the municipality has proposed a meeting with the community and Eskom to find a workable solution to the matter.
That proposal of bulk installation was a good idea, so we want to see if Eskom can still bring it back to the table. I have already written a letter to Eskom proposing a meeting, and I have advised the Amaqamu Trust to do the same.
“This now affects everybody and it needs to be resolved urgently,” said Ntombela.
Azibuye Trust chairperson Mlungisi Khanyezi could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.
