The Sunday News
Angel Nkomo, Sunday News Reporter
A Bulawayo man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for felling Zesa poles damaging the transformer and stripping them of copper cables in Matobo District.
Bothwell Ndlovu (46) was convicted on 23 December and sentenced to 10 years in jail.
He appeared at the Plumtree Regional Court before Mrs Sithembiso Ndebele with Mr Willbrought Kennedy Muleya prosecuting.
The complainant in the case is the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission Distribution Company (ZETDC) Bulawayo, represented by Mr Alfred Nsingo who is the company’s loss control officer.
It was the State case that Ndlovu whose address was given as Number 129 Lona Road, Killarney, Bulawayo, unlawfully cut ZETDC transformer HT wooden poles to gain access to the overhead copper cables.
On 13 November Ndlovu connived with his accomplice who is still at large and went to Fox Farm in the Mgadla area of Matobo District where they intended to steal the transformer.
On arrival at the farm, Ndlovu and his accomplice approached a ZETDC 11KV transformer mounted on two HT wooden poles which they cut using an axe. After cutting the HT wooden poles the transformer fell onto the ground and was damaged.
Villagers from the neighbourhood mobilised themselves and confronted the intruders leading to Ndlovu being apprehended while his accomplice charged at the villagers threatening to harm them with the axe that they had used to cut down the poles and made good his escape.
Ndlovu was then handed over to the police in Matobo who invited ZETDC (Western Region) officials to inspect the scene.
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