Emalahleni local municipality has been whipped into shape after the Mbombela High Court fined it R650-million for years of sewage spills that polluted major Mpumalanga rivers and put thousands of residents at risk.
The municipality pleaded guilty to environmental offences committed between March 2019 and March 2025.
During this period, raw sewage escaped from broken sewer lines and flowed into tributaries feeding the Olifants River.
The contamination reached Ferroglobe Silicon Smelters, Witbank Dam, the Naawpoort River, Steenkoolspruit, the Klein Olifants River, and the main Olifants River.
“The municipality was found guilty of the unauthorised disposal of waste, failure to comply with water use license conditions, causing significant environmental pollution, pollution of water resources, non-compliance with ecological authorisation, and failure to comply with compliance notices and directives,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa on Thursday.
Spill from overflowing manholes
According to Nyuswa, the municipality admitted that untreated sewage had spilled from overflowing manholes due to collapsing wastewater systems across Emalahleni, KwaGuqa, Ga-Nala, and Ogies.
She said the failures violated the National Environmental Management Act and the National Water Act and continued despite directives from the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs.
The Green Scorpions and Blue Scorpions launched an investigation after repeated complaints from communities near the affected rivers.
Their findings, outlined by Nyuswa, formed the basis of the prosecution.
“In court, the municipality, represented by its municipal manager, entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the state in terms of Section 105A of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977,” Nyuswa said.
She added that the agreement included guilty pleas for unauthorised waste disposal, pollution of water resources, and non-compliance with license conditions.
The court took all counts together for sentencing and imposed a fine of R650-million or 10 years’ imprisonment.
Rehabilitation and urgent repair
To ensure that residents are not further disadvantaged, the court directed how the penalty must be applied.
“In terms of Section 300 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, Emalahleni local municipality must utilise R500-million of the imposed fine for the rehabilitation and urgent repair of all identified wastewater infrastructure by April 2031.
“The R150-million or three years of the sentence is suspended for five years on condition that the municipality is not convicted of similar offences during the suspension period,” Nyuswa said.
The NPA said pollution of this nature contaminates water systems, fuels climate change, and threatens public health.
“During sentencing, state advocate Beauty Cibangu stressed the gravity of the offenses, noting their devastating impact on the ecosystem and public health.
“She highlighted that such pollution leads to severe health risks, environmental degradation, and economic losses to affected communities.
“The NPA welcomes the finalisation of this matter and reaffirms its commitment to prosecuting environmental crimes without fear, favor, or prejudice.” Nyuswa said.
