Police Arrest Pair for Vandalizing ZESA Transformer and Copper Theft

Police have arrested two men for the systematic vandalism of a ZESA transformer, stripping it of copper windings for illicit resale. The suspects were apprehended while transporting the stolen materials from Mhondoro-Mubaira to Harare, highlighting the persistent threat that infrastructure theft poses to the national power grid. This arrest follows a series of similar incidents that have left communities without electricity and forced the utility to divert scarce resources toward repairs. The state is now intensifying its surveillance of the copper trade to curb the black market demand driving these crimes. The core vulnerability remains the ease with which stolen infrastructure can be liquidated in an unregulated secondary market.