The body of a man who died after stepping on live wires while relieving himself lies on the side of the road. Picture: CCI Network Twitter
JOHANNESBURGH – A Fourways, Sandton man met a gruesome death in Lenasia when he died after stepping on live wires on the side of the road.
The man had parked his car on the side of Nirvana Drive and went to answer the call of nature when he met his tragic death.
The incident happened on Saturday afternoon and the ANC’s PR Councillor for Ward 10 in Lenasia, Zarina Motala, said what had happened was “absolutely heartbreaking”.
According to Motara, the man normally leaves his Fourways home and travels to the Station Butcher in Lenasia where he buys meat.
Motara said when after the man bought the meat, he must have desperately needed the loo as he decided to park on the side of the road and relieved himself.
Unfortunately he stepped on live wires that run from the streets lights and into the informal settlements. He died at the scene.
“People in the nearby shops must have seen him lying there and they called the police who then safely removed his body.
“This is very tragic; it’s very sad. His family was at the scene on Sunday to see for themselves where he had died.
“People are traumatised and I really feel for his family. The festive season is upon us and for their relative to meet death in such a way is tragic.”
Motara said illegal connections were a big problem in the area and that she had in the past spoken to City Power to remove them.
However, she said, they last removed them two years ago and then residents of the informal settlement took to the streets to protest and then reconnected the wires themselves.
As things stand, she said, street-lights don’t work because residents of the informal settlement take power there, a situation that has made streets dangerous as they are dark.
City Power’s Isaac Mangena said they went to the scene after the matter of the electrocuted man was reported.
He admitted there were problems of illegal connections in the area and they had had in the past had several operations where they cut the illegal connections, only for the residents to reconnect the wires themselves.
Mangena said the area was complicated in that they couldn’t supply the informal settlement with electricity as it’s on Eskom land. Another thing, he said, the residents obtained electricity from street-lights and from Prasa, as there is a railway line and station nearby.
“There are spiderwebs on exposed wires there. They run on the lawn at the park where children play...it’s a very dangerous situation.
“We are busy planning an operation to cut off the illegal connections,” Mangena said.