Sabotage: The Onslaught on Eskom, by Kyle Cowan

After unknown saboteurs toppled a strategic pylon near Lethabo Power Station in the Free State in November 2021, almost causing the country to plunge into stage 5 load-shedding, Eskom’s chief executive officer André de Ruyter declared: ‘This was clearly now an act of sabotage and I think we can call it as such.’

 

It was not the first such incident, but it was the clearest indication to date that there are individuals out there intent on causing maximum damage to the ailing power utility, and more specifically, to its corruption-busting CEO, De Ruyter, and straight-shooting COO Jan Oberholzer.

 

In  Sabotage: The Onslaught on Eskom,  award-winning journalist Kyle Cowan unravels the history, corruption and politicisation of the state power utility to explain how and why those entrusted with turning it around are being systematically targeted in what can only be described as a sustained and vicious onslaught designed to protect political patronage networks and those intent on robbing the country.

Drawing from interviews, documents, court cases and testimony at the Zondo Commission, this is a shocking account of an orchestrated campaign that affects the daily lives of all South Africans and the survival of the country’s economy.