Mutare–A 28-year old Mutare man who was facing three counts of stealing copper cables worth $1700-00 from the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) electricity line has been slapped with a 10 year jail sentence.
By Tapera Gwezhira
Theophelus Mukome of number 7, Barting Street, Greenside was convicted on his own plea of guilty when he appeared before magistrate Tendai Mahwe on March 27.
Mukome was charged for contravening section 60 A (3)(a) of the Electricity Act Chapter 13:19 which criminalise tempering with any apparatus for generating, transmitting, distributing or supplying electricity with the result that any supply of electricity maybe disturbed.
Representing the state, Chris Munyuku told the court that in early January 2019, Mukome cut and removed 10 kilograms of copper cables from the electricity line using a hacksaw.
Mukome on noticing that he has successfully stole from the NRZ, went on to steal another six metres of the copper cables end January.
In February, he stole another 30 metres of the copper cables and went away unnoticed.
The matter came to light when Mukome was arrested and cut offs of the armoured cables and a hacksaw which he used were recovered in his possession.
Mukome voluntarily led the police to the scene where he committed the offence indicating to them how he managed to walk away with the copper cables.
Mukome implicated Farai Murimbechi (34) of Block B flats in Sakubva as his accomplice. However, Murimbechi was acquitted.
Nothing of the stolen property was recovered.
