10-year imprisonment for copper cable possession

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief

POSSESSION of copper cables without a valid licence now attracts a mandatory 10-year prison sentence without the option of a fine under new regulations meant to deter vandalism of key utilities.

The Copper Control Amendment Act has been amended to raise the minimum sentence for illegal possession of copper from two years to a mandatory 10 years.

The Government last Friday gazetted the Copper Control Amendment Act, 2022.

The Act came into effect on October 21.

According to the new Act, it is now mandatory for all copper dealers to have certificates of origin for the metal in their possession.

“No person shall, either as a principal or agent, deal in or possess copper as a dealer or putative dealer, unless he or she is a holder of a prescribed certificate of origin,” reads part of the Act.

The Act says that any person who unlawfully or intentionally deals in or possesses copper without a certificate of origin shall be guilty of an offence, and if there are no special circumstances peculiar to the case, be liable to imprisonment for a period not less than 10 years without the option of a fine.

Before the amendment, a convicted person was liable to a fine not exceeding level eight or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both fine and such imprisonment.

“If there are no special circumstances peculiar to the case, the person shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not less than ten years without the option of a fine.”

The Act also guards against vandalism of any item or essential infrastructure through theft of copper cables.

“Any person who unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally, tampers with, damages or destroys utilities through theft of copper cables or colludes with or assists another person in the commission, performance or carrying out of any activity and who knows or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that there are copper cables shall be guilty of an offence,” reads part of the Act.

“If there are no special circumstances peculiar to the case, be liable to imprisonment for a period not less than ten years without the option of a fine.”

According to section 10 (b) of the Act, any person who deals in, or has in his or her possession, stolen copper shall be guilty of dealing in or possession of stolen copper, as the case may be, and liable to imprisonment for a period not less than ten years without the option of a fine.

According to the Act, courts have also been empowered to forfeit to the State any vehicle or any other device used in transporting the illegal copper.

“The court, in convicting a person for an offence under this Act, shall order that any vehicle or any other device used in transporting the illegal copper be forfeited to the State.” 

The thefts of copper cables have had a direct negative impact on operations of Zesa Holdings, the country’s power utility and signal systems of the National Railways of Zimbabwe. 

Zesa on several occasions reported losses running into millions of dollars due to copper cable thefts. 

This has disrupted the provision of service, with some households and businesses enduring long periods without electricity.

The power utility has reportedly been losing over US$2 million annually to theft and vandalism of its infrastructure.

In a bid to curb the widespread thefts and vandalism, in 2019 Zesa acquired drones.

During the first quarter of 2022, 15 cases of copper theft from NRZ infrastructure were reported.