Online Reporter
Kimberley Chitambara, Chronicle Reporter
A 56-year-old Bulawayo man has been sentenced to a mandatory 10 years’ imprisonment after being found in possession of 17 kilogrammes of copper cables valued at US$750.
Zororai Musvasviki of Old Magwegwe suburb was convicted of contravening Section 10 of the Copper Control Act (Chapter 14:06) — unlawful possession of copper — when he appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Archie Wochiunga.
In passing sentence, the court applied the mandatory custodial penalty prescribed under the Copper Control Act.
Prosecuting, Mr Owen Mugari told the court that on December 26 at around 4.30PM, security guards from the Cold Storage Company (CSC) in Bulawayo’s Belmont industrial area were conducting routine patrols when they spotted Musvasviki carrying a suspicious white sack.
The guards identified themselves and requested to search the sack, leading to the recovery of copper looms (insulated wiring bundles) and rewind wire, materials commonly stripped from electrical transformers or motors.
Musvasviki was immediately apprehended and taken to Donnington Police Station, where he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for possessing the copper during questioning, resulting in his arrest.
The recovered copper was later taken to Zimpost in Bulawayo for official weighing and valuation, which confirmed that it weighed 17kg and was worth US$750 based on prevailing scrap metal rates.
Bulawayo has of late been hit by a series of power outages, mostly due to copper cable theft.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) is now in the process of replacing copper cables with aluminium ones.
Zesa Holdings is seeking a review of the sentence for individuals convicted of stealing power cables and transformers from 10 years to 30 years to curb the vice that is prejudicing the power utility of more than US$2 million annually.
ZETDC requires more than US$14 million to procure intruder detection gadgets to fight the scourge that continues to bleed the power utility.
The power utility has since invited whistle-blowers to curb the upsurge in vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure.
