Man jailed 10 years for stealing Zesa cables

A Harare man was on Tuesday sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing 25 metres of ZESA armoured cables worth $2 500.
Oswald Zindoga (38), who was found in possession of the armoured cables, was convicted on his own plea by Harare magistrate Mr Francis Mapfumo.

He pleaded guilty to theft of 25 metres of armoured cables in violation of Section 60A (3a) of the Electricity Act Chapter 13:19 as amended by Section 20 of Act 6 of 2005, which speaks to receiving or taking possession of any material used in connection with the generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity. In terms of the law, the offence attracts a mandatory 10-year prison term.

On February 27, 2019 — Owen Sipedi— a member of the police neighbourhood watch visited the accused person’s homestead after receiving information from locals that he was in possession of armoured cables. The officer found the accused person in possession of 25 metres that were chopped into pieces and stashed in his bedroom. The PVC from the armoured cables was also found in a nearby field after further searches were conducted.

Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) staffers positively identified the armoured wire and PVC, as ZESA property. The cables were produced in court as exhibit.