News24.com | EFF branch chair accused of sending bomb threat to Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer released on bail

Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer

• A man accused of sending a bomb threat to Eskom's chief operating officer has been granted bail.
• The accused is chairperson of an EFF branch in Emalahleni.
• He was allegedly disgruntled after he was not hired by the power utility.

A chairperson of an EFF branch in Emalahleni has been granted bail after he was accused of making bomb threats against Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer.

Thapelo Mnisi, 27, was released on R2 000 bail by the Emalahleni Magistrate's Court after he appeared on a charge of contravening the South African Explosives Act 15 of 2003.

Mnisi, from KwaGuqa in Emalahleni, allegedly sent a bomb threat message to Oberholzer in May this year.

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The threats were related to allegations of nepotism and dissatisfaction over not being employed at the power utility, said Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase.

He said:

"The group was allegedly promised to be absorbed through permanent employment opportunities in the organisation. However, upon qualifying as boilermakers, they were only called to work on a casual basis.

"Mnisi and his group were enraged when they were not hired and found out about other people who were allegedly employed whilst they were excluded. The bomb threat was reported to the police and was assigned to the Hawks' Crime Against the State team for further handling."

Mnisi was arrested on Friday, during an operation by the Hawks and Bidvest Protea Coin Security.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Eskom said its internal security investigations team had informed the police upon hearing of the threat.

It was also established that the suspect had used an unregistered SIM card to send the message.

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The general manager of security at Eskom, advocate Karen Pillay, said other Eskom executives had also been targeted in recent months.

The matter was postponed to 17 January.

The EFF had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.