The mayor of the City of Tshwane, Nasiphi Moya, has been reported to the Public Protector over her role in disconnecting electricity at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital on Monday.
Moya, a councillor under the ticket of ActionSA, spearheaded the team of technicians to head to Weskoppies to switch off power at the hospital.
On Tuesday, the Edgar Legoale Foundation, an NGO dedicated towards the upliftment of vulnerable communities in South Africa, lodged an urgent complaint regarding the City of Tshwane and Moya over the power disconnection. The NGO has a mandate encompassing youth empowerment, education, health advocacy, and the promotion of human rights.
Violated rights of vulnerable psychiatric patients
The foundation’s chairperson, Edgar Legoale, confirmed the move.
“In line with our mandate, we are gravely concerned that the City of Tshwane’s actions on 5 May 2025 have trampled upon the rights and interests of vulnerable psychiatric patients. It violated a binding High Court order, and undermined the rule of law. We write on behalf of the foundation to request your esteemed office’s urgent investigation, intervention, and remedial action in the public interest,” he said in the letter.
Weskoppies, which cares for hundreds of vulnerable patients, became the latest casualty of the city’s campaign. Dubbed the Tshwane Ya Tima electricity disconnection campaign, it metes out the city’s wrath to non-paying customers through power cuts.
“As a public health establishment, Weskoppies is an essential service facility that operates 24 hours a day. It safeguards the health and life of its patients – who often cannot be easily moved or cared for elsewhere on short notice.
“Continuous electricity supply is thus critical to its operations. Also to the safety and dignity of its patients,” he said.
R1-million electricity bill
The disconnection was purportedly due to an outstanding municipal electricity bill of about R1-million. The amount is owed by the hospital and the Gauteng Department of Health.
Moya announced the disconnection publicly via her social media account on X (formerly Twitter). In a post, she proudly referenced under the Tshwane Ya Tima campaign.
She exclaimed: “The fourth stop for Tshwane Ya Tima is in the CBD. This facility owes the City of Tshwane R1-million. We’ve switched them off. We encourage all customers who have outstanding bills with the city to settle them.”
Legoale said: “This public announcement confirmed that the highest political office in the city directly authorised and endorsed the disconnection at Weskoppies. The tone of the message suggested a routine operation. It was equating a psychiatric hospital to any other defaulter being taught a lesson. This action left the psychiatric hospital without municipal power.”
Health department denies non-payment
After the power cut, the provincial health department disputed the non-payment. It stated payment of the outstanding R1.2-million that covered the hospital’s electricity usage for March and April this year was already in progress. It was in progress at the time Moya and her technicians cut the power.
The power disconnection at the hospital prompted an outrage. Criticism and concern was all over social media and in the press.
Faced with the huge backlash, Moya defended the city’s actions. She reiterated that all customers must settle their accounts to avoid disconnection. And she pointed out that Tshwane Ya Tima campaign does not discriminate.
Mayor defends campaign
“By cutting electricity, the city materially interfered with the hospital’s ability to function and provide care. Electrical power is essential for numerous health care services. These range from keeping lifesaving equipment running, to maintaining sanitary conditions to preserving medications.
“The disconnection decision was improper, prejudicial, and taken for ulterior purposes. Tshwane was bound to honour the principle that public hospitals must not be subjected to power outages. Mayor Moya’s public remarks suggest either a misunderstanding of the city’s legal obligations or a wilful decision to subordinate those obligations to short-term financial goals. Either scenario is unacceptable for an organ of state,” said Legoale.
Vulnerable psychiatric patients found themselves in the dark, in an environment of chaos and uncertainty. Legoale pointed out that some patients at Weskoppies are profoundly disabled or disoriented. He cited that the darkness could have created chaos and confusion among them.
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