BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
A 27-YEAR-OLD Marondera man was on Sunday electrocuted while stealing overhead electricity cables.
The charred remains of Barnabas Mahwite, of Chokudenga Farm, was discovered by security guards at Kudenga Farm while on routine patrol.
Police later discovered more than 600m of cables stashed in sacks in a nearby bush.
Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident and bemoaned the increase in theft of power cables in Marondera.
“Theft of Zesa cables is now a menace that is affecting the supply of electricity to various sectors of the economy. Most hit are farms around Marondera area, in which criminals are targeting overhead copper cables,” he said.
“We are appealing to the public not to steal or tamper with Zesa cables. This is negatively affecting development and people must know that stealing Zesa cables has a mandatory sentence, which will make then languish in prison despite the dangers of causing death through electrocution.”
According to the police, on Sunday, around 10pm, Mahwite allegedly got electrocuted while attempting to steal live Zesa overhead copper cables at Kudenga Farm in Marondera.
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He was in the company of an unidentified accomplice, who is on the run.
Mahwite’s charred body was recovered the following morning by security guards on patrol who filed a report at Marondera Rural Police Station.
Police officers and Zesa technicians attended the scene, where it was discovered that more than 600m of copper cables had been cut, rolled and stashed in some sacks hidden in a nearby bush.
The corpse was taken to Marondera Provincial Hospital for a post-mortem.
