Cape Town - An Eskom employee’s kidnapping could be linked to organised crime groups, experts say.
This as the power utility said the employee’s vehicle was shot at multiple times, and was forcefully taken by seven assailants in an incident two weeks ago.
“The employee was later released at a location in the south of Johannesburg and had to be admitted to hospital as a result of injuries sustained from being assaulted by the attackers. The matter is now subject to police investigation,” read the utility’s statement.
Eskom’s acting group chief executive, Calib Cassim said incidents of this nature would not be tolerated.
“We convey our sympathies to the employee and their family for the trauma they went through and will provide the necessary support.
Eskom condemns such brutal acts and will under no circumstances tolerate any attacks on its staff members and their families, by anyone.”
Forensic investigator, Calvin Rafadi said there appears to be a cartel working to kidnap Eskom’s employees.
“These incidents are very common but mostly go unreported and it's a concern that should be taken seriously. Staff members who sit in important meetings and deal with tenders and other things become targets and I do feel that these incidents might emanate from disputes of money.
“It's a sad state of affairs and they need to be protected because they serve the country, there seems to be a cartel working on these kidnappings and they need to be rooted out, there must be thorough investigations before these mafias feel powerful enough to do more harm,” he said.
Criminologist Professor Nirmala Gopal said she suspected the incident was related to corruption at the utility.
“It might be that the employee had some vital information that could implicate others. I don't believe that there is enough individual security and protection at Eskom. It almost sounds like there's powerful people who are part of criminal elements, and in the case of the victim being a high official, then it's really cause for concern,” she said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident can contact Crime Stop anonymously on 0860 010 111, or SMS the Crime Line on 32211.
Cape Times