Two eThekwini Municipality employees arrested for diesel theft
One of the eThekwini Municipality water trucks that was allegedly caught offloading diesel at a private residence.
Image: eThekwini Municipality
Two eThekwini Municipality employees have been arrested after they were caught stealing diesel meant for municipal operations.
The City said the arrests were made last week in eKukhanyeni, near Verulam, after investigators followed up on reports of suspicious activity involving municipal water trucks.
The Municipality confirmed that one municipal water truck was caught offloading diesel at a private residence, while another was parked next to the gate of the same residence. Both trucks were reportedly carrying water intended for delivery to communities.
According to the City, a case of theft was opened at the Inanda Police Station, and the suspects are expected to appear in court. Investigators found 12 containers of diesel, each with a 25-litre capacity, totalling 300 litres of stolen fuel.
At a recent Executive Committee (Exco) meeting it was revealed that the City had spent R86 million on fuel for fleet vehicles in the first three months of this year.
The Head of the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), Jimmy Ngcobo, commended the team behind the arrests. “Further investigations will be conducted in this area as it is alleged that diesel is frequently offloaded there,” said Ngcobo.
This table supplied by the eThekwini Municipality shows the cases in the 2024/25 financial year.
Image: eThekwini Municipality
He added that the stolen diesel is being resold and warned that employees involved in theft and fraud will face the full consequences. “We will not allow employees to steal municipal resources. We urge the community to report fraud and corruption cases to be investigated, like in this instance,” he said.
The City said the arrests form part of its broader campaign to root out fraud, corruption, and the misuse of municipal infrastructure and resources. According to the municipality, the investigation was launched after tip-offs from members of the public who had observed suspicious activity in the area.
The municipality said the incident is one of several being investigated as part of ongoing efforts to clamp down on internal corruption in the 2024/2025 financial year.