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Yeukai Karengezeka Herald Correspondent
A Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) employee appeared in court on Thursday for illegally connecting electricity to 11 households in Chitungwiza while giving the impression that he was on official duty.

Notion Charakupa (49) who is employed as a revenue assurance assistant, appeared before magistrate Mrs Yeukai Chigodora yesterday on abuse of office charges.

He pleaded not guilty and was remanded out of custody on $200 bail. He will be back in court on May 28 for trial continuation.

Prosecutor Mr Norman Koropi alleged that from January to April this year Charakupa together with Maxwell Chadambura and Alfred Zakaria bought electrical cables, a ladder, electricity meters and boxes and proceeded to Garikai houses in Unit L, Seke where they connected electricity to 11 houses.

Mr Koropi said the trio lied that they were ZETDC employees and were on official duty since they were all wearing the company’s overalls and using the company’s vehicle, which was being driven by Charakupa.

The matter came to light when another ZETDC worker Shepherd Marunga received an anonymous tip off that the trio was connecting electricity to houses using the old fixed system instead of the pre-paid system.

The illegal connection prejudiced ZETDC of a lot of revenue as the connections bypassed the charging meters.