South Africa
Police investigate alleged cyanide poisoning of De Ruyter─── 05:28 Mon, 09 Jan 2023
On Sunday, the power company Eskom said police were investigating whether an attempt was made to poison its outgoing chief executive officer André de Ruyter.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan also told Reuters on Sunday that the alleged incident "will be thoroughly investigated" and anyone responsible will be charged.
Without giving any details, Gordhan said an intense battle was taking place "between those who want South Africa to work and thrive and those who want to corruptly enrich themselves".
Faced with political pressure, De Ruyter resigned on 14 December 2022 after failing to solve a crisis at Eskom that has led to record power cuts in South Africa.
After officially taking office in January 2020, De Ruyter led a company-wide clampdown on corruption and organised criminal behaviour, including sabotage of infrastructure at Eskom plants. His last day in office will be 31 March 2023.
"Eskom cannot comment further on the poisoning incident involving the group chief executive, which occurred during December 2022, as the matter is subject to police investigation," the utility’s head of security said in a statement.
The alleged cyanide poisoning was first reported by specialist energy publication EE Business Intelligence on Saturday.
The opposing Democratic Alliance said on Sunday that criminal syndicates were "hell-bent on cementing their stranglehold on Eskom, which is destroying the economy".
