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Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau

Police have arrested a 26-year-old Kariba man who stole nearly 100 iron angle bars from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) transmission towers on the 330KV power line from Kariba Power Station.

Marshal Maruza of Batonga Township in Kariba was arrested following a tip off to the police that he had sold some angle bars to Mr Fanwell Chirai in the Chawara industrial area.

The bars were intended to make kapenta fishing boats.

Mr Chirai cooperated with the police leading to Maruza’s arrest and recovery of 42 iron bars which were positively identified by ZETDC as their property.

Maruza has since appeared before Kariba magistrate Mr Tapiwa Banda facing allegations of contravening Section 60 of the Electricity Amendment Act criminalising the cutting, damaging, destroying or interfering with any equipment for generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity.

He was remanded in custody to March 2 pending the transfer of his case to the Karoi Regional Courts.

The power line supplies Alaska substation for onward distribution to other parts of the country and feeds regional countries including Botswana and South Africa.

Linked together to build the electricity pylons, the bars combine to give sturdiness and structural integrity to withstand the vagaries of weather to the towers.

At least six towers were affected with 12 bars each being taken away from pylons 30, 31 and 32.

The theft is suspected to have taken place between October and early January this year as ZETDC’s loss control team conducted the last quarterly inspections in September and the towers were intact.

It has not yet been established if Maruza was working alone or was part of a gang.

Investigations showed that he used spanners to unscrew bolts fastening the galvanized angle bars to the main frame.

They took 72 bolts, washers, nuts and angle bars inscribed K159A, K160A and K161A.

It is further alleged that at the time of his arrest, Maruza had stolen a further 24 bars from the pylons.