Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has compelled state-run power utility ZESA Holdings to pay more than US$60,000 in compensation to two minors who sustained severe electrical burns after coming into contact with low-hanging power cables.
In a statement, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said ZESA Holdings “is forking out more than US$60,000 to compensate two minors who sustained severe electrical burns after coming into contact with low-hanging power cables owing to its employees’ gross negligence in the discharge of their duties.”
The Bulawayo High Court, through Justices Evangelista Kabasa and Justice Dube, ordered the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company, a subsidiary of ZESA Holdings, to compensate the minors aged 11 and 14.
According to ZLHR, the two minors from Mangwe Rural District in Matabeleland South were electrocuted on May 18, 2022, after coming into contact with low-hanging electricity cables. The organisation said the children enlisted the services of ZLHR lawyer Prisca Dube to sue ZETDC.
Related Stories
In the case of the 11-year-old, ZLHR said summons were filed on August 14, 2024, seeking damages on the basis that the state-run power utility’s negligence had resulted in the minor’s electrocution. Although ZETDC denied liability and described the claim as “exorbitant,” Justice Dube on January 15, 2026, ordered the utility to pay US$50,000 within two months.
For the 14-year-old, who suffered severe burns and was later declared to have a 32 percent cumulative disability after undergoing surgery at United Bulawayo Hospitals, ZLHR filed summons on August 8, 2024, demanding US$52,000 in damages. ZETDC again denied liability, maintaining that the claim was “exorbitant.”
However, ZLHR said that on January 14, 2026, ZETDC made an offer of settlement, stating that the amount represented the maximum covered by its insurance policy. The offer was accepted by the minor’s parents, and on January 22, 2026, Justice Evangelista Kabasa ordered payment of US$16,000 within 60 days.
ZLHR said it assisted the two minors as part of the organisation’s anti-impunity interventions aimed at fostering accountability at the country’s electricity supplier and deterring human rights violations by state-run institutions.
The organisation added that it has, for several decades, intervened in similar cases of ZESA Holdings’ negligence by suing and obtaining court orders for the payment of damages on behalf of numerous victims.
Leave Comments