eThekwini sees red after employee caught sabotaging CCTV feed

An eThekwini municipality employee who was caught damaging newly upgraded cables that link servers and feeds to security CCTV cameras last week was arrested on Tuesday.

The arrest comes after the camera operator, 30, had been under investigation by the city’s disaster management unit, its integrity investigation unit and the police.

The cameras are linked to the city’s emergency service control room, which monitors and detects crime.

The city opened a criminal case for theft, sabotage and vandalism of municipal infrastructure. The employee was also served with a notice of immediate suspension.

The municipality late last year embarked on a project to repair and upgrade CCTV cameras in the city centre.

Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said: “We are committed to rooting out any form of criminality within the municipality. We have adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards lawlessness. The city has no room for criminals and will not allow anyone to compromise the safety of our residents, visitors and businesses.”

The city’s disaster management and services head, Vincent Ngubane, said anyone founding tampering or sabotaging municipal infrastructure, including CCTV cameras, would be arrested.

“This includes our own staff. Repairing damaged infrastructure is costly and is a major setback in the fight against crime,” said Ngubane.

TimesLIVE