10-year jail term for electricity thieves

A subsidiary of Zesa Holdings, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), has warned against by-passing and tempering of prepaid meters, giving offenders a two-month ultimatum to come forward and regularise their connections or face 10 years’ imprisonment.

This comes on the back of a rise in the number of offenders who have been apprehended by police.

“ZETDC is offering a grace period of two months until August 31, 2018 for such offenders to voluntarily come forward, regularise their electricity connections and by-passed meters without questions being asked, as we are aware that some customers may not have appreciated the full impact of attempting to by-pass meters,” the utility said.

“After August 31, 2018, customers that are found to have by-passed or tampered with their meters will be liable to prosecution and risk having a mandatory 10-year jail sentence passed on them,” it warned. — DailyNews