ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME6 AUG 2026Sasol halts answers to MPs after NPA raids Secunda operations with search warrantsA long-running criminal investigation into allegations that Sasol unlawfully polluted the Vaal River system took a…Sheree Bega7 min read

National Prosecuting Authority investigators executed fresh search warrants at Sasol’s Secunda operations this week while company executives appeared before Parliament, as investigators revealed the long-running criminal investigation into alleged pollution of the Vaal River has expanded A long-running criminal investigation into allegations that Sasol unlawfully polluted the Vaal River system took a dramatic new turn this week when National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) investigators executed fresh search warrants at the company’s Secunda operations while executives were appearing before parliament. The warrants, served by environmental management inspectors and the NPA on Tuesday, came as Sasol executives defended the company againstallegationsfirst made by whistleblower Ian Erasmus in 2019. During the briefing, it emerged that investigators had widened their criminal probe to include additional allegations against the company.

The development prompted Sasol to stop answering MPs questions, saying the execution of the warrants and the possibility of renewed criminal proceedings meant it could no longer respond in detail without prejudicing its legal position. The committee has given Sasol until 25 August to submit written responses to their questions. The committee hadcalled the meetingto receive updates from the department on its handling of Erasmus’s protected disclosures, including enforcement action taken, investigative steps and reasons for delays in the case.

In March 2021, theMail & Guardianreportedthat Erasmus, a former Sasol senior process controller, had endured what he described as “years of hell” after blowing the whistle on the company’s alleged unlawful disposal of vanadium, diethanolamine and potassium carbonate. Erasmus, who worked at Sasol from 2005 until 2020, alleges he was forced to resign after raising concerns internally and externally about environmental non-compliance. In February 2019, Erasmus testified at the South African Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into pollution of the Vaal River, alleging that hazardous chemicals entered the river system because chemical sewer valves at Sasol’s Secunda Benfield units had failed and remained unrepaired despite repeated warnings.

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He alleged the broken valves allowed contaminated waste to enter the wrong part of the plant’s wastewater system before ultimately reaching the Klipspruit River. Erasmus also presented evidence showing elevated levels of vanadium in Sasol’s western API dams during 2017 and 2018 based on the company’s own internal analyses. Sasol has consistently denied the allegations. It wascriminally chargedin 2022 over alleged historical environmental management failures at its Secunda operations.

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