News24.com | Angry Mdantsane residents confront alleged cable thieves

The community of Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape described the scourge of cable theft in the area as being as out of control.

• Mdantsane residents confronted alleged cable thieves earlier this week.
• Two residents told News24 the scourge of cable theft has crippled the community and public facilities.
• They alleged the recent power outages in Cecilia Makiwane Hospital prompted residents to take matters into their own hands. 

Community crime watch forums in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, have described the scourge of cable theft as crippling and out of control.

So much so, that residents have formed crime-fighting units to combat both cable theft and other crimes. 

Earlier this week, Task Force, one of the units, raided a scrap yard in the NU9 area that was suspected of buying stolen copper cables and other metals.

Angry residents stormed the establishment after power outages, allegedly due to cable theft, affected the local Cecilia Makiwane Hospital. 

A forum member, who spoke to News24 on condition of anonymity, said residents bore the brunt of load shedding and further outages owing to cable theft.

He said the recent outage, which threatened operations at the local hospital, was the last straw. 

He added:

He accused the police of turning a blind eye to cable theft, even when residents caught the alleged thieves and took them to police stations.

"Police have no idea what's happening in our communities. They are present physically, but they do nothing. They only arrive at scenes after Task Force has taken the initiative. If they arrest the thief, they release them the following day, and we see them walking among us. When we ask why, they [the police] tell us we don't understand the law," he said.

On Thursday the provincial heath department implemented several measures to deal with the severe damage caused by cable theft:

• Patients in the outpatient department were moved to Frere Hospital;
• Two clinical managers from the hospital were transferred to Frere casualty to assist with the workload;
• 15 corpses were moved to Mdantsane forensic pathology services for safe storage; and
• All caesarean section cases were moved to Frere Hospital.

The department also roped in a contractor to restore power at the hospital.

The alleged thieves apprehended by residents were treated for injuries at the hospital.

READ | Cable theft is economic sabotage and must be confronted head-on

"Vandalising and stealing electricity cables of a hospital is tantamount to premeditated murder because we deal with life and death situations," said MEC Nomakhosazana Meth.

"Such criminality and thuggery also expose the department to possible medico-legal claims should anything happen to patients. We are happy that this time no one lost their lives because of this."

Yolanda Dyani of Mdantsane United Against Crime and Violence told News24 that the scrapyard owner allegedly buys stolen cables.

Dyani added:

Dyani said cable thieves pounced during load shedding.

"Cable theft has become unbearable. It is worse now with frequent load shedding. If you get home and it's dark after load shedding, you often find that cables have been cut or tampered with," she said. 

Police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said police were not aware of the confrontation between residents and the alleged cable thieves.