Andre de Ruyter, the outgoing CEO of Eskom, has filed a criminal complaint alleging that he was poisoned at the power company’s headquarters in Sunninghill, Johannesburg. An assassin allegedly spiked De Ruyter’s coffee with cyanide a day after he quit as CEO of Eskom, and it was recently revealed that he survived the attempt on his life.
According to a report by EE Business Intelligence, De Ruyter confirmed the attempt on his life, which occurred on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, a day after he submitted his resignation as CEO to the chairman of Eskom, Mpho Makwana, but before it was made public on Wednesday, December 14.
After consuming a cup of coffee in his office, De Ruyter grew weak, dizzy, and bewildered, shook uncontrollably, and vomited profusely. He subsequently became unable to walk and collapsed.
Authorities are investigating the suspected poisoning of Andre de Ruyter, so Eskom is remaining silent for the time being.
“Eskom is unable to comment further on the poisoning event involving the Group Chief Executive, which occurred in December 2022, due to an ongoing police investigation. Under CAS 82/1/2023, a criminal complaint has been filed at the Hermanus Police Station, according to Eskom’s Head of Security, Karen Pillay.
The complaint has been forwarded to the Midrand Police Station.
In December, De Ruyter resigned from Eskom just two months after revealing he had found a “sophisticated” eavesdropping device in his car.
According to reports, De Ruyter contacted former commissioner George Fizaz, whose company initiated an investigation to assist in identifying it. Then, Fizaz reportedly told De Ruyter that the piece of equipment was so advanced that only a few of people could manufacture it. According to Fizaz, the vulnerability might have been exploited to monitor De Ruyter’s position and chats, among other capabilities.
»Andre de Ruyter files criminal charges in connection with an alleged poisoning«