Home PodcastJulie Alli Calls for City of Johannesburg to investigate electrical issues in Ward 58 following the tragic death of a newly-wed couple

Calls for City of Johannesburg to investigate electrical issues in Ward 58 following the tragic death of a newly-wed couple

by Zahid Jadwat

Gray Metal Wire Rack

 

JOHANNESBURG – Frustrated residents of Ward 58 in the City of Johannesburg are calling for an investigation into electrical issues in the area following the tragic deaths of a newly-wed couple in Crosby, Johannesburg, on Sunday night.

The couple, Zaheer Sarang (28) and Nabeelah Khan (24), are reported to have died after being electrocuted in their home upon returning from honeymoon last week.

“The CEO Mr. Mongezi Ntsokolo has requested the team to launch an urgent investigation into the allegations that the couple was killed by a faulty electrical connection, attributed to the illegal connections in the area,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

Community activist Aziz Ally told Salaamedia that residents in Ward 58, which comprises Crosby, Mayfair, Fordsburg, and Homestead Park, have previously complained about experiencing electrical shocks when touching taps. He believes that this is due to illegal connections in the area.

“The unabated illegal connection into the power grid is putting a burden onto the system and what’s happening is we are getting City Power officials to fix these outages that are occurring because of illegal connections but, within two or three days, the issue is recurring,” he said.

Ally implored the City of Johannesburg and City Power to launch “a full investigation as to why residents are experiencing electrocution” and suggested that an independent electrical engineer be appointed to investigate the cause of frequent electrical outages.

“We need an entire inquest into this incident and the people that are responsible should be held to account,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ward Councillor Alex Christians confirmed that the father of the victim, Yusuf Sarang, had reported being shocked and experiencing power outages as early as the first week of June. He said that the City’s response “has been really limited”.

Julie Alli spoke to community activist Aziz Ally and Cllr. Alex Christians about illegal electricity connections in Ward 58 of the City of Johannesburg on News & Views. Listen to the full interview here:

Related Videos