The Sunday Times revealed at the weekend that a “sophisticated bug” was discovered in De Ruyter's car last week.

The power utility’s spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha has confirmed the development, saying De Ruyter found the bug while cleaning his car.

The past three weeks have seen South Africa experiencing some of the worst load-shedding yet, with growing calls for De Ruyter to resign or be axed.

Eskom is also battling to root out syndicates involved in corruption and sabotage at the power utility.

The Institute for Security Studies analyst Willem Els says the bugging device could pose a danger to De Ruyter’s life, as it is sophisticated and typically owned by private personnel.

“It is a fairly sophisticated device and very common, especially within state agencies, where you find these types of sophisticated devices. It's not too sophisticated, however, it’s impossible for a private person to build it - only a specialist can build such and it's commonly used within state agencies.”

Els says since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been using their cars as an office and this could be the reason for the placement of the device.  

“During Covid, many people used the vehicle as offices and that is the ideal opportunity to eavesdrop and find out what they’re planning. Apart from that, it’s also a tracking device which could pose a danger in one’s life as they can trace your movements.”

Jacaranda News