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In a tragic turn of events an alleged cable thief was electrocuted while attempting to steal overhead cables at the railway tracks near Dal Josaphat Train Station in Paarl on Sunday (17 March).
The incident has sent shock waves through the nearby communities, highlighting the persistent issue of cable theft in the region.
Capt Louise du Plessis, a Paarl police spokesperson, told Paarl Post the 35-year-old man was already dead when police arrived on the scene.
“Police have opened an inquest investigation following the discovery of his lifeless body at approximately 07:10 on Sunday morning.
“It is alleged the man was trying to steal overhead train cables when he was electrocuted.”
It is understood he came into contact with live wires, resulting in a fatal electrocution.
Cable theft remains a longstanding issue in South Africa, and several parts of Drakenstein.
The theft of copper cables, often for their scrap value, not only disrupts essential services, but also poses significant risks to both thieves and the public.
Du Plessis added the police’s specialised unit has made numerous arrests, and many of these suspects are currently on trial.
“Police and role-players continuously investigate cable theft and hold operations to curb the theft. Businesses are also requested to ensure they safeguard their infrastructure to the best of their ability to assist in curbing theft.”
According to Daan van Leeuwen Boomkamp, chairperson of the Drakenstein Farm Watch (DFW), January saw a significant decline in cable-theft incidents.
There has, however, been a spike over the past two months with most incidents occurring during longer hours of load shedding, he said.
“We recently had an incident in which an entire transformer was vandalised. For the next two days the nearby areas experienced constant blackouts due to the severity of infrastructure damage.”
He said DFW remained concerned that there was no clear direction from local authorities in dealing with rampant cable theft.
“If you look at the areas where most of these incidents are reported they are indeed rural areas. We ourselves do work in these areas, and we note with concern that police and law-enforcement officers are rarely visible here.
“We have recently seen the rolling out of the peace officers initiative. However, these officers patrol our CBD only, and quite frankly only during the day.”
Van Leeuwen Boomkamp reiterated the importance of local authorities collaborating with community organisations and civil society to curb rampant cable theft.
“We have on numerous occasions proposed an open radio network where neighbourhood watches can communicate with local authorities. In this way we can have a more swift response to these incidents.”
Areas such as Dal Josaphat, Sonstraal, Keerweder and Vergelegen has been identified by DFW as some of the cable theft hot spots in the municipal area.
Paarl Post reached out to the Passenger Rail Association of South Africa (Prasa) for comment, but it did not respond at the time of going to print.
