Online Reporter
Trish Mukwazo, [email protected]
A NOTORIOUS copper cable thief who was arrested following an intensive two-week police operation in Bulawayo has been sentenced to an effective 11 years in prison for stealing copper wires valued at US$141 000.
The conviction and sentencing come amid growing concerns over the rampant vandalism of essential infrastructure, which has left many communities in Bulawayo and other parts of the country without electricity, telecommunications and railway services.
Tapfumanei Muzarabani (48) of Bellevue suburb in Bulawayo was found guilty of four counts of copper theft in violation of several laws, including Section 38 of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) Act, Section 89 of the Telecommunications Act, and Section (3) (1) of the Copper Control Act.
He was also convicted under Section 60 of the Electricity Act, which criminalises the unauthorised handling and possession of copper cables.
Bulawayo regional magistrate, Mr Matthew Mutiro, sentenced Muzarabani to 10 years for each of the three major counts and one year for the fourth count. However, the court ruled that three of the counts would run concurrently, leaving him with an effective 11-year jail term.
Muzarabani’s wife, Tracy Muzarabani and two other suspects, Allan Mudyiwa (28) and Hebron Chiyangwa (27) of Mahatshula suburb, were acquitted due to lack of evidence directly linking them to the crime. The four had been arrested in March last year in Mahatshula on charges of illegal possession of copper cables.
In his ruling, Mr Mutiro stressed the seriousness of copper theft and its widespread impact, saying such crimes attract a mandatory 10-year jail sentence due to the critical role copper infrastructure plays in public utilities.
The prosecutor, Ms Concillia Ncube, said Muzarabani’s criminal activities took place between January and December 2022, continuing until March 2023. His theft spree disrupted key service providers, including the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), NRZ and TelOne.
These entities have been battling an upsurge in cable theft, which has led to frequent power outages, disrupted railway operations and crippled telecommunications services in several parts of Bulawayo.
The court heard that NRZ recorded substantial losses from the theft of locomotive power copper conductors and railway signal cables. Upon Muzarabani’s arrest, authorities recovered 430kg of stolen NRZ locomotive power conductors and service cables valued at US$8 600.
ZETDC, one of the hardest-hit service providers, lost overhead copper cables, armoured cables and transformers worth tens of thousands of dollars. Police investigations led to the recovery of 2 600kg of scrap copper valued at US$52 000, which had been stolen from the power utility.
Similarly, TelOne experienced widespread disruptions due to the theft of telephone cables, signal wires and communication copper wires. The stolen property recovered from Muzarabani included copper cables valued at US$2 000.
Following an increase in copper theft cases, police have intensified operations to dismantle copper theft syndicates. Government has also tightened regulations on copper trade, imposing stricter monitoring and penalties for illegal dealers.
Vandalism of critical infrastructure is not just a financial burden but a major setback to national development and service delivery.
Bulawayo has of late been hit by a series of power outages mostly due to copper cables theft, with Eastern suburbs being the worst affected. Recently, Hillside and parts of Fourwinds suburbs woke up with no electricity after thieves stole nearly two kilometres of copper cables along Matopos Road.
In April last year, about 950 metres of copper cables were stolen in Njube resulting in suburbs neighbouring Old Lobengula, Lobengula Extension and Mpopoma going for days without electricity.
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.
