Kudakwashe Choga, a 50-year-old resident of Mvuma, recently appeared in court for stealing 364 units of electricity from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), a subsidiary of ZESA Holdings.
Choga was charged in the Mvuma Magistrates’ Court with violating the Electricity Act, which prohibits the unlawful abstraction or diversion of electricity current.
The Act states that it is illegal to “abstract or divert any electric current or cause any electric current to be abstracted or diverted, or knowingly use any electric current which has been unlawfully abstracted or diverted.”
The court heard that from March 26 to May 2, 2024, Choga tampered with the electricity line conductor supplying power to his meter.
He connected the conductor directly to his load, effectively bypassing the meter and avoiding payment for the electricity consumed.
As a result of his actions, Choga caused ZETDC to suffer a loss of 364 units of electricity, valued at ZWL$1,237.60.
He was sentenced to six months in prison, with four months suspended on the condition that he restitutes the ZWL$1,237.60 by November 30, 2024.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

A 50-year-old man named Kudakwashe Choga from Mvuma stole 364 units of electricity from ZESA. This is against the law. He tampered with the electricity line to bypass the meter and not pay for the electricity he used. As a result, ZESA lost money. Choga was sentenced to six months in jail. He can avoid two months of jail time if he pays back the money he owes by a certain date. It is important to follow the law and pay for the services we use.

Mvuma Man (50) Jailed For Stealing 364 Units Of Electricity From ZESA

ZESA customers who buy electricity cables or transformers to replace those that would have been vandalised or stolen are entitled to full compensation, a cabinet minister has said.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, the Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development Magna Mudyiwa said the reimbursement is in the form of electricity units equivalent to the cost of equipment a client would have bought.
In recent years, ZESA has experienced a surge in the theft of its power distribution equipment including electricity cables and transformers leaving some ZESA clients in the dark for months.
Some businesses and individuals end up buying their own equipment to replace stolen or vandalised equipment as ZESA is taking too long to replace such equipment.
Mudyiwa said the standing policy is that consumers who spend their own money to replace vandalised ZESA infrastructure should be compensated but not in cash.
She was responding to Kambuzuma MP Willias Madzimure (CCC) who had asked if there is a policy to compensate ZESA customers who their money to buy cables to replace those stolen or vandalised. Said Mudyiwa:
<blockquote>
There are cases whereby the consumer goes on to buy even a transformer to replace the vandalised one and such consumers are compensated.
ZESA will credit such consumers’ accounts with electricity equivalent to the money spent.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/zesa-should-reimburse-clients/">Chronicle</a></h4>

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