By Walter Nyamukondiwa
A CHEGUTU man has been jailed 10 years for illegally reconnecting electricity after he was switched off by Zesa for not paying bills. Obvious Muposiwa (31) of House Number 2890 ZMDC House, was arrested after two acts of defiance.
Power to his house was disconnected on February 8 and he went on to reconnect as soon as the Zesa worker had left. Several days later, another Zesa employee discovered that Muposiwa had illegally reconnected electricity supplies.
This prompted the power utility to remove the Miniature Circuit Breaker to ensure power would not be available. However, this did not deter Muposiwa. He went on to use wires to restore the supplies.
He was arrested and brought before Chegutu magistrate Mr Fabian Feshete who convicted him of destroying or interfering with Zesa equipment for distributing electricity without authority.He was convicted on his own plea to the charge.
Mr Feshete slapped Muposiwa with a 10-year mandatory term of imprisonment. The court could not find special circumstances to warrant the reduction of sentence. Prosecutor Mr Solomon Kanyoka appeared for the State.
Anyone arrested for possession, stealing or vandalising Zesa Holdings infrastructure can be jailed for not less than 10 years in terms of the country’s laws. Zesa has lost huge amounts of money due to vandalism of transformers, copper cables and other infrastructure.
Zesa is currently on a campaign to switch off non-paying customers. Businesses belonging to defaulting Cabinet ministers, other individuals, farms and several households have so far been disconnected.
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo and his estranged wife Marian owe the national power utility $129 656,44 for power supplied to their Allan Grange Farm in Mashonaland West Province.
Energy and Power Development minister Elton Mangoma last month said ministers, MPs and senior government employees were not paying their bills. Manicaland Governor Christopher Mushowe and Mangoma’s own Permanent Secretary Justin Mupamanga are some of the biggest debtors.
