A 17-YEAR-OLD boy from Hwange was recently electrocuted after coming into contact with live electricity wires on fallen Zesa poles with residents expressing concern over neglected power lines in the area.
The residents this week told Southern Eye that fallen electricity poles that have not been attended to for a long time had seen other people being seriously injured.
Villagers in the district also complained that Zesa Holdings had failed to rehabilitate the system with live power lines having been left lying on the ground for more than three years
In an interview, ward 12 Nakabandana councillor Jowan Chuma confirmed the incidents which saw two people being seriously injured while the teenager died in another incident last week.
“A 30-year-old villager was severely injured in the Kasese area sometime in November last year while two boys, aged 13 and 17, suffered electric shock on March 2.
“The first one got injured at around 4pm, while the 17-year-old boy was hit an hour later. The three were taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals by the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company,” he said.
Chuma’s sentiments were echoed by Hwange East MP Joseph Bonda who said villagers came into contact with the live power lines while coming from herding cattle.
“There are about 15 poles that have been left lying on the ground for more than three years now. The power lines cut across a way leading to our pastures and the challenge is that when Zesa workers restore power they do not alert villagers making it difficult for villagers to know when they are in danger,” he said.
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The 13-year-old boy’s mother Anala Mpala said her son suffered electric shock while coming from herding cattle in the company of other boys.
“He is admitted at United Bulawayo Hospitals and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company has offered to take care of my child’s medical bills and my accommodation in Bulawayo,” she said.
Mpala, however, said the boy’s condition was improving.
No comment could be obtained from Zesa Holdings. Lindiwe Nyoni, communications officer at the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, said the regulator had recieved reports of the incident.
