By Everson Luhanga
- City Power says only 61 of 1,380 Klipspruit households buy electricity legally, leaving paying families stuck with constant outages and failing services.
- Isaac Mangena says staff intimidation by Abdul Majiet must stop or City Power will cut power for the whole Klipspruit area to protect workers.
Families in Klipspruit West fear sitting in the dark after City Power warned it will switch off electricity for the entire area.
The warning comes after workers said they were threatened while trying to read meters and fix illegal connections.
City Power says the threats make it impossible to keep the lights on safely. At the centre of the trouble is Abdul Majiet.
The power utility says he does not live in Klipspruit West but still leads a small group that blocks teams from doing their work.
“Our teams were blocked by Abdul Majiet and a small group who falsely claimed to represent the community,” said spokesperson Isaac Mangena.
He said workers were stopped from reading meters on 2 December. Only 61 of the area’s 1,380 households pay for electricity legally.
Mangena says the rest either bypass meters or are not connected at all, causing constant outages for the few who do pay. “This is completely unsustainable,” he said. “It causes constant outages and poor service for residents who do pay.”
City Power has opened criminal charges against Majiet.
Mangena urged police to act and asked residents to support the teams on the ground.
He warned that if threats continue, City Power will have “no choice” but to cut electricity for the whole area, even though innocent families will suffer.
“We’ve done it before in places like Alexandra, Rabie Ridge and Mayibuye,” he said. “We won’t hesitate to do the same in Klipspruit.”
Mangena also warned residents not to follow Majiet, saying he is “spreading misinformation and putting everyone’s services at risk.”
Pictured above: City Power workers on the ground in Klipspruit West
Image source: City Power
