Staff Reporter
MOKGOLOBOTO-A suspected electric transformer oil thief met his death in a tragic way after he was electrocuted while trying to steal transformer oil at Mokgolobotho village.
He was badly burnt and hospitalised on Friday, 29 July after allegedly tampering with a transformer.
The man believed to be in his 30s succumbed to injury on Tuesday at Van Velden hosipital in Tzaneen.
The high voltage burned his clothes to ash, save for a piece of his shirt, leaving him almost naked.
One community member told Tzaneen voice that the area was experiencing constant shortage of electricity, every time when they call Eskom they were told about people who were stealing oil form the transformer.”
Due to the vandalism, one of the transformers was leaking oil and an emergency shutdown had to be done for a repair.
The electrocution drew mixed reactions from the Mokgoloboto. Some thought it served him right, while others wondered why did the man risk his life for transformer.
