By Tarisai Machakaire
Two Harare men have been jailed for 10 years each for stealing copper cables.Blessmore Kinini, 30 and Walter Muza, 25, were convicted for contravening Section (3a) of the Electricity Act which prohibits receiving or taking possession of any material used for generation and transmission of electricity.
They were sentenced to the mandatory 10 years in prison by Harare magistrate Barbra Mateko after they failed to proffer special circumstances.
Prosecutor Peter Kachirika urged the court to impose a custodial sentence, saying they tampered with crucial electrical cables, endangering members of the public.
“The court must be seen to safeguard society from individuals like the accused persons who after stealing electric cables and leave open wires that put the public in danger. Offences of this nature are on the rise and a deterrent sentence ought to be imposed,” prosecutor Peter Kachirika said.
Kachirika told the court that on March 10, 2019 around 9am, constables Takaruza Jack and Hazvinei Katogo were deployed on a Zesa Holdings operation to avert theft of electrical cables.
While patrolling Siyaso Magaba Complex, they bumped into Kinini who was carrying a white sack. The officers introduced themselves before searching the sack. They recovered 18kg of Zesa copper conductors, and Kinini was immediately arrested.
A Zesa official John Gombe was summoned to police and positively identified the copper cables as those from Zesa. They were valued at $360.
That same day, Muza was also arrested at Siyaso with another 18kg sack of electricity cables worth $360. Daily News.
