South Africa: Eskom to Hit Joburg with 9-Hour Outage – South African News Briefs – August 14, 2024

Eskom to Hit Joburg with 9-Hour Outage

Eskom has announced planned power outages in several areas of Soweto, Johannesburg, reports to IOL. The utility company stated that it will carry out scheduled maintenance in Dobsonville Extensions 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and old Dobsonville, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. “The interruption in electricity supply is necessary to perform essential maintenance on our distribution power lines,” Eskom said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said while South Africans have been enjoying 138 days without load shedding, the energy crisis is not over. He said that government remains “buoyant” when it comes to Eskom’s performance but load shedding is still not a thing of the past.

Rights Group to Probe Walter Sisulu University Student Shooting

A student from Walter Sisulu University (WSU), Dumisani Khoza, has a bullet lodged in his pelvis after being shot in the buttocks during a protest in Mthatha on May 27, according to News24. Khoza alleges that police officers used live ammunition while students demonstrated on the N2 near the university. Nine students were injured in the incident, with some requiring weeks of hospitalization. Khoza himself spent over a week in the hospital and was informed by doctors that the bullet could not be removed. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) stated that it was alerted to the shooting through various media reports. “In response to allegations of excessive force and by our mandate to protect individual rights, the commission has decided to investigate these claims through an inquiry to evaluate the legality of the force used and its impact on human rights,” the SAHRC said. Khoza mentioned that he was among a group of students protesting delays in National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) payments.

Greenside High Head Prefect’s Body Recovered from Vaal Dam

The body of Reza Saloojee, an 18-year-old matric student who drowned during a family trip to the Vaal Dam, has been recovered, reports IOL. Saloojee, the head prefect at Greenside High, reportedly encountered difficulties while attempting to retrieve his belongings that had blown into the dam. Divers from the South African Police Service (SAPS) later recovered his body. Saloojee’s family was present at the scene when the SAPS team located his body.

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