A 31-year old man died by electrocution on the 1st of January while he was working in the Lulekani township. The deceased was electrifying new and old homes in the Lulekani township and on that day was tasked with electrifying one of the homes in the area.
CPF Medical’s Jaco Gericke, himself a qualified electrician, said the victim had been electrocuted whilst working on a live cable. “When we arrived, unfortunately we could not reach the municipality’s standby electrician, but fortunately I am a qualified electrician and I always keep my testers with me, so I made the area safe to enter for us and the SAPS,” stated Gericke. “After I made the area safe to enter through the ceiling, I noticed that the earth leakage had been bypassed.”
The police in Lulekani are now urging community members to take extra caution when conducting electricity related duties. According to Sgt Reoh Mabunda, spokesperson of the Lulekani SAPS, the police were busy with their official routine when they received a report of a man who was electrocuted. “On our arrival we were pointed out to a man who was lying down on top of a roof. An ambulance was called, and the man was certified dead on the scene,” stated Mabunda.
“Preliminary investigations were conducted, and it was established that the man was hired to electrify the house when suddenly he was electrocuted and died instantly.”
Mabunda said that an inquest docket was opened immediately which is currently under investigation and his body was taken to Maphutha Malatji hospital’s government mortuary where a postmortem will be conducted to confirm the cause of his death.
“We are so devastated with the loss of a future leader as it happened exactly when everyone was celebrating for the new year, we appeal to people to not tamper with electrical equipment and should rather get a qualified artisan to assist you,” concluded Mabunda.
