City Power security officer shot dead in Denver, JHB

A Johannesburg City Power security officer, Thulasizwe Gasa, has been fatally shot at Shalazile Informal Settlement in Denver, Johannesburg.

Gasa was found lying on a path between the shacks inside the informal settlement over the weekend.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena says the killing highlights the extreme risk faced by most of their personnel who are safeguarding the electricity supply infrastructure.

Mangena also highlighted criminal syndicates trying to harvest the electricity infrastructure across the power utility’s network.

Mangena says a case of murder has been opened, and that the suspects are still at large.

He says, “The fatal shooting occurred over the weekend and when the security officer who’s attached to a contractor, Thulasizwe Gasa, was shot three times in the head, chest and stomach by unknown suspects. He was lying on the footpath between the shacks, where the micro solar grid is basically built. The motive is not yet known, but it’s believed to be an attempt to steal around the microgrid infrastructure as well as some of the security guard personnel. This senseless and unnecessary loss of life comes at a time when City Power is basically going through some of the attacks from the communities where we operate, where we see increasingly our security officers, our technicians, our contractors as well attacked, hijacked.”