Three City of Tshwane officials arrested for theft of transformer make cases for bail
The trio were arrested this week in a Crime Intelligence operation in connection with the theft of a multi-million rand transformer.
Three Tshwane municipality workers accused of stealing a R7 million transformer appeared in the Atteridgeville Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 2 July 2025. Picture: Simphiwe Nkosi/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - Three City of Tshwane officials will know this week whether they will be released on bail.
Until then, the officials remain behind bars at the Kgosi Mampuru Prison.
The trio were arrested this week in a Crime Intelligence operation in connection with the theft of a multi-million rand transformer.
The device was stolen from the Laudium substation.
The three city officials returned to the Atteridgeville Magistrates Court on Friday, where they presented reasons to be released on bail.
In statements read to the court, one of the accused, 45-year-old Siphiwe Mahlangu said he had no previous convictions, no pending cases or warrants of arrests.
He further added that he was the primary provider for his three young children and wife.
Another official, Thomas Baloyi, said that he had evidence proving that he wasn't involved in the crime.
Through his lawyer, who his read his statement, Baloyi said that the transformer in question was old and disused.
He also said that he had no passport and therefore wasn’t a flight risk.
The arrest has seen Tshwane officials further increase security around its infrastructure, investing millions of rand on technology that will curb vandalism.