A 20-year-old Mhondoro man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of vandalising ZESA infrastructure and stealing copper cables worth US$740.
Delvin Majuta appeared before the Kadoma Magistrates’ Court after he and an accomplice, who remains at large, broke into a ZINWA irrigation pump house in Mamina and targeted a ZESA transformer.
The court heard that on August 26, 2026, at around 2.30am, Majuta and his accomplice gained entry into ZINWA Irrigation Scheme Pump House B armed with hacksaws, a hammer, metal blades and spanners.
They allegedly cut armoured copper cables from a ZESA transformer, stripped the insulation and packed the copper into two sacks.
The break-in was discovered when security guards conducting perimeter checks noticed the damaged pump house.
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The guards followed footprints from the pump house to Chidzenga Bus Stop, where they found the two suspects waiting for transport.
The suspects fled when they were approached, abandoning the stolen copper cables.
Police investigations later led officers to Majuta’s homestead in Mugwagwa Village under Chief Murambwa, where he was arrested.
The recovered copper weighed 37.6kg and was valued at US$740.
Experts from ZESA’s Loss Control Department positively identified the cables, which were produced in court together with the tools used in the offence.
Majuta was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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