Shocking News — CEO of South Africa’s Electricity Utility Survives Murder Attempt

The Eskom story continues like a mystery crime thriller

We’re still in the dark (203 days), and nobody knows how or when the story will end. It’s like living in a mafia movie!

In December, I wrote a story on why we wouldn’t be enjoying a bright Christmas, and shared the news that Andre De Ruyter, current CEO of Eskom, has resigned, effective March this year. (See link below)

On Sunday, January 8, we learned to our horror that on 13 December, the day after De Ruyter had tendered his resignation to the chairman of the board, and the day before the news went public, he drank from a poisoned chalice.

An assassin had laced his cup of coffee with cyanide!

The incident happened in his office at Eskom headquarters in Megawatt Park, Sandton. An external source advised EE Business Intelligence, who reported on the matter, that De Ruyter began shaking uncontrollably, became weak, dizzy, and confused, and repeatedly vomited.

His security detail rushed him to a doctor after he collapsed. The diagnosis was cyanide poisoning, and he received the necessary treatment. Subsequent tests confirmed elevated levels of cyanide in his body.

De Ruyter has confirmed he reported the attempted murder to the South African Police Service (SAPS) on Thursday, 5 January 2023. (Another mystery — why the delay?)

The police have not yet confirmed whether they are investigating the case. Neither have Eskom, the minister of state enterprises Pravin Gordhan, to whom De Ruyter reports, or president Cyril Ramaphosa commented on this troubling assassination attempt.

Crime syndicates infiltrated Eskom during the years of state capture under Zuma’s watch.

Under De Ruyter’s leadership, Eskom has been cracking down on corruption and sabotage at its power stations since he became CEO in 2020. Security details protect him and his family, as well as other senior managers 24/7.

De Ruyter and his executive team have been clamping down on, and cutting off, illicit revenue streams from procurement irregularities, fraud, theft, corruption and maladministration, sabotage and vandalism, both within Eskom and by various suppliers and contractors.

It’s no surprise the perpetrators who profit from such corrupt activities would want to kill off those who wish to expose and prosecute them.

In a democratic society, one would assume (except we know better by now) that the leader of a country would immediately call a press conference or address the public to condemn this attack. The fact this news broke on a Sunday is no excuse.

Our major opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) have called on the president to address the nation and tell us what decisive actions the ANC government will take.

“The outgoing CEO who was forced out by shenanigans in the ANC has had an attempt on his life — all this happening while the minister and the president are utterly silent on the matter.” — Ghaleb Cachalia, DA.

At the ANC elective conference held 16–20 December, 2022, president Ramaphosa announced the deployment of the South African Defence Force (SADF) to protect Eskom power station assets at several Eskom coal-fired power stations to guard infrastructure.

Eskom will soon implement a full screening and security sweep of all its active contracts, many of which were signed off before De Ruyter’s tenure, to root out unscrupulous contractors and their employees who work on site, as well as companies already under investigation.

The Department of State Enterprises, the ministry under which Eskom operates, responded in parliamentary Q&A this week that they are using both human and technological security measures, as well as detection and monitoring systems, to protect Eskom’s power plants.

The mafia movie continues with no end in sight as we endure daily blackouts which began on 6 September last year.

As part of the ANC’s January 8th statement delivered this year — a tradition which commemorates the anniversary of the founding of the (dis) organisation — the president mentioned the energy crisis and called for the Eskom board,

“…to recruit world-class professionals to fill the vacancies in executive management.”

In light (pardon the pun) of the attempted murder, who would want to put their life at risk and apply for the position of CEO?

Whoever takes over will need the full backing and support of government and law enforcement agencies to drive out the “energy mafia” as David Richard Walwyn, Professor of Technology Management, University of Pretoria, calls it.

“This isn’t sabotage, this is criminality and it’s organised criminality.”

Chris Yelland, managing director of EE Business, said on Radio 702 on Monday,

“That is the objective of these criminal syndicates. It is intimidation. It is to make sure that no credible, good leader wants to touch this position. The fear is that De Ruyter’s replacement will be a political appointment rather than the best person for the job.”

We shall have to wait and see what happens in the next chapter of this mystery crime thriller!

Before you go, please allow me to indulge in a little nostalgia and share Hugh Masekela’s performance at Paul Simon’s 1987 concert in Zimbabwe. The song was a call to bring back Nelson Mandela, who became the first president of our democracy in 1994.

If only we could bring him back to sort out the mess in which we find ourselves!

Thank you for being here.