Electrician electrocutes adopted son

Faith Mabuto, Midlands Reporter
A VICTORIA Falls electrician connected power to a high pressure spray, electrocuting his 20–year-old adoptive son who was inside an empty petrol tank which they were cleaning at Zuva Petroleum Plant in Gweru.

Petros Mudombi, 57, of Victoria Falls Airport Compound, was working with his two sons in April last year when he connected power, killing one of them.

Mudombi appeared before Regional Magistrate, Morgan Nemadire, facing one count of culpable homicide.

Through his lawyer, Nomatter Hlabano of Makonese and Partners, Mudombi pleaded guilty to the charge and was remanded out of custody to October 22 for sentencing.

“Your worship my client pleads guilty to the charge of culpable homicide. He and the now deceased had a relationship of father and son as he adopted him in 2000 when his parents passed away,” said Mudombi.

“On the day in question, my client assumed that the now deceased was wearing protective clothing so he did not check.”

Prosecuting, Andrew Marimo told the court that on April 2 last year and at Zuva Petroleum Plant, Heavy Industry in Gweru, Mudombi had a contract of cleaning tanks.

He was working with his now late son Blessing Kundika and another one who was not named.

“The trio had three high pressure cleaners of different capacities and spray guns of the same capacities which they used to remove sludge oil from the tank walls and surface,” said Marimo.

The prosecutor said the three started working in the morning using the medium size machine.

He said their working strategy was that Mudombi’s son and the now deceased would take turns to enter the fuel tanks to clean them.

The court heard that at around 2PM, the medium sized machine they were using suddenly stopped working.

“They opted for a small spray gun which was very low and could take them about six hours to complete a small portion. So Mudombi and his sons decided to use the big high pressure cleaner and its spray gun which is the biggest and it was going to take them 30 minutes to complete the same portion,” said Marimo.

The court heard that Mudombi connected the power cables of the big high pressure cleaner and its spray while Kundika was inside the tank holding the spray gun by its nuzzle with its butt on the floor.

Marimo said Mudombi then connected the wires to the main switch and switched on the machine.

He said Mudombi’s other son then went inside the tank and found Kundika lying on the rails unconscious.

“They took Kundika to Gweru Provincial Hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival,” he said.

Marimo told the court that Mudombi caused the death of his adopted son by wrongly making indirect substandard connections.

The man was also said to have failed to provide protective clothing to his employee and creating an unsafe working condition which resulted in the accident happening.

The court heard that Mudombi wrongly connected the black live wires from the machine to the earth terminal position of the MC breaker and in the process made the whole machine live resulting in the electrocution of Kundika.

The matter was reported to the police leading to the arrest of Mudombi.