The not-so-friendly neighbourhood Spiderman stole a street light from a suburb in Johannesburg – Photo: Twitter
The not-so-friendly neighbourhood Spiderman stole a street light from a suburb in Johannesburg – Photo: Twitter
We have questions. So many questions. A video is going viral online this morning, after a man was seen climbing a lamppost in Johannesburg and stealing a street light from the top of the structure. The footage has left viewers bemused and impressed in equal measure.
Who steals a street light? Johannesburg residents left stumped
Of course, the destruction of municipal infrastructure should never be celebrated. Yet, it’s hard to take your eyes off this. Late on Sunday afternoon, the star of the clip – who has since been dubbed ‘Spiderman’ online – is first seen halfway up the lamppost.
From there, he acrobatically shimmies his way to the curvature of the structure. He removes the street light from its position, and lowers it to the ground using the built-in wiring. Once it has settled on the floor, this nimble thief slides down the post and gets back to his feet.
Watch: ‘Spiderman’ thief steals a street light in Johannesburg
The whole act takes just a matter of seconds from start to finish. In the middle of a quiet residential area, the thief isn’t challenged. Instead, he’s allowed to swiftly get on with his business. City Power have been alerted to this act of selfish vandalism.
Watch this. Uncontrolled and widespread. pic.twitter.com/a9yfgsZVt5
— jv (@jvnaidoo1) November 14, 2022
More infrastructure destruction caught on camera
This video proves that there really is nothing thieves in South Africa won’t try and steal. Recently, we reported that an entire school was stripped down and sold on by opportunists in the Western Cape. Meanwhile, cable theft remains a stubborn challenge to our local infrastructure.
As comical as this raid on a street light may appear, it’s an act of criminality. By all means, ‘Spiderman’ dangling from the top of a lamppost is eye-catching. But it speaks to a much bigger problem in Mzansi. Like many of our crooks, this guy has absolutely zero fear of getting caught.
