30-year mandatory sentence for copper cable thieves

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
COPPER cable thieves in the country will be handed a mandatory 30 year sentence if convicted, according to an amended version of the Copper Control Act that had been tabled before Cabinet.

The proposed amendment and strengthening of the act was presented on Tuesday by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi.

The country loses millions every year from copper cable theft, with only last Saturday a team made up of various security agencies intercepting a commercial truck carrying 19.6 tonnes of suspected stolen telephone and electricity cables estimated to be worth thousands of dollars which was being smuggled out of the country through Beitbridge Border Post.

In her briefing on Tuesday Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the stiffer penalties were meant to protect both property and human life.

“The upsurge in cases of vandalism and theft of copper cables and transmission equipment across the country has necessitated the amendments to the Act. The thefts have resulted in destruction of ZESA, TelOne and National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) infrastructure, loss of revenue as well as loss of lives in some instances due to accidents involving naked and exposed power cables. The resultant toll on the economy in general cannot be over emphasised,” she said.

Offenders, if convicted, could face as much as 30 years in jail, Minister Mutsvangwa said.

“The amendments seek to institute stiffer penalties in order to curb the theft of copper and related products and thereby safeguard the critical infrastructure. In more detail the Amendment Bill will seek, among other provisions, to criminalise: (a) vandalism of equipment and theft of power transmission cables; (b) dealing in stolen copper; (c) all dealership without possession of certificate of origin for all the copper they deal in; and specify the penalties for these offences. The mandatory sentence for those found dealing illegally in copper will be thirty (30) years,” she said.