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OpenGweru Brothers Jailed 93 Years For Stealing ZESA Transformer Oil
Two brothers from Gweru, Jacob and Masimba Chibunhe, have been sentenced to a total of 93 years in jail for stealing transformer oil in and around the city.
Jacob was given 45 years for 17 counts, while Masimba got 48 years for 18 counts. The High Court ruled that their sentences would run at the same time (concurrently).
The brothers took their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that their sentences should have been run together.
But Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, along with Justices Susan Mavangira and Joseph Musakwa, dismissed their appeal and said the original sentences were fair. Ruled the court:
The whole essence of legislative intervention in providing for a mandatory minimum sentence is to take away the sentencing discretion of the court.
Once taken away, that sentencing discretion cannot be regained by inventing a structuring process of sentencing which side-steps the legislative command.
I must mention though that the part of the court a quo’s judgment on this aspect has not been impugned either by the appellants or the respondent. For that reason, this Court has no basis to interfere with it.
The judges also pointed out that the court had looked closely at how the crimes were committed and found that the two had gone on a crime spree around Gweru, draining transformer oil and selling it to various people. Ruled the court:
The court took note of the fact that the appellants had disadvantaged the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) by stealing a total of 11 530 litres of oil and causing damage to transformers amounting to $96 750.
The court further noted that the appellants were an organized criminal gang which operated under the cover of darkness and meticulously planned the execution of the crimes.
Also, their criminal escapades resulted in communities and industries suffering due to non-availability of electricity.
After analysing the totality of the above considerations, the court found that a sentence based on purely the mandatory sentence of ten years would be “draconian, abnormal and excessive to the extreme and induce an extreme sense of shock”.
The court then exercised its discretion and arrived at a calculation of three years per count with some counts running concurrently.
This was done in the exercise of sentencing discretion which, as already stated, was improper but cannot be upset because, firstly it was favorable to the appellants and, secondly, none of the parties has challenged it.
The Chibunhe brothers were charged in Gweru’s Provincial Magistrates Court with 18 counts of tampering with electricity infrastructure under the Electricity Act.
Between February 11 and June 29, 2013, Jacob and Masimba, along with two accomplices, carried out a series of transformer oil thefts across Gweru.
They stole a total of 11,530 litres of oil, causing major power outages and financial losses for ZESA, the national power supplier.
The State said the group used a red Honda Fit (registration ACW 7466) to move around the city at night, targeting at least 18 transformers.
The damage caused was estimated at over $96,000. The stolen oil was later sold to commuter bus operators they had ties with.
Masimba admitted to one count, while Jacob denied all charges.
More: NewZimbabwe.com
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