daniel chigunwe
Herald Reporter
A Harare man has been cleared of allegations of by-passing an electricity meter at his former residence in Borrowdale, after the court inspected the wiring at the house and demonstrated that he had been making regular payments to ZETDC.
Godfrey Munyamana was discharged and acquitted at the close of the State’s case after a Harare magistrate noted that there was no prima facie (at first sight) case against him.
He was charged under the Electricity Act for having stolen electricity for years at his former residence after he allegedly connected the house to the mains line of the ZETDC, without going through a meter.
During trial, the court went with Munyamana to his former place of residence in Bookview, Borrowdale, for an inspection in loco where the State wanted to show how the ZESA cables were allegedly bridged.
The State took a witness, ZETDC electrician Jawet Makuzha, to demonstrate how the electricity was allegedly used illegally for years at Munyamana’s house.
But that just allowed Munyamana, through his lawyers, to convince the court that he was not a cheat, as alleged.
Through his lawyers, Munyamana produced proof of payments to ZETDC, which tallied with the energy he was alleged to have illegally used.
Armed with all this proof, the defence then applied for discharge at the close of the State’s case, arguing that all the State’s witnesses had failed to produce evidence that proved him of any wrongdoing.
The court upheld his application for discharge at the close of the State case and acquitted him of the charges.
The case started two years ago when Munyamana sold the house, with the buyer noticing possible anomalies when he wanted to buy electricity.
He sought clarity from ZETDC and electricians were sent to check then Munyamana was arrested and charged, but the evidence was not produced.
Online Reporter