By A Correspondent | ZimEye | Transformer Vandals Slapped with Combined 90-Year Jail Term as Supreme Court Upholds Sentence — While Million-Dollar ZESA Looters Walk Free
Two Gweru siblings who were part of a transformer vandalism syndicate that plunged parts of the city into darkness have been sentenced to a combined 90 years in prison—a staggering penalty for crimes that caused losses of under $100,000 to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).
Jacob and Masimba Chibunhe, convicted of siphoning 11,530 liters of transformer oil between February and June 2013, will now each serve over 40 years in prison after both the High Court and the Supreme Court upheld their convictions and sentencing.
In a fresh ruling, a Supreme Court panel comprising Justices Susan Mavangira, Lewis Mathonsi, and Joseph Musakwa dismissed the brothers’ appeal in its entirety, finding no fault in the lower courts’ decisions.
“The argument… that the court misdirected itself by failing to treat the counts as one for sentencing purposes… is without merit,” the judges stated. “No grounds for interference have been established. The appeal is wholly without merit and stands dismissed.”
Jacob was sentenced to 45 years for 17 counts, and Masimba to 48 years for 18 counts, under a law that imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years per count for tampering with electricity infrastructure.
Yet the harshness of the sentencing has stirred public outrage, particularly in light of the state’s apparent paralysis in pursuing justice in far more consequential electricity-related corruption scandals—most notably involving Wicknell Chivayo.
Chivayo, a businessman with powerful political connections, was awarded over $5 million by ZESA for a solar project in Gwanda that never materialized. Despite receiving funds for pre-commencement works—allegedly without delivering anything of substance—Chivayo has never been convicted, and continues to enjoy state protection and luxury.
“So two poor men who looted transformer oil worth less than $100,000 between them get 90 years in prison, but a politically-connected tycoon who bled over $5 million from the same institution is celebrated and untouched by the law?” a legal commentator asked rhetorically. “This is not justice. This is selective accountability.”
ZESA has previously reported that replacing a single vandalised transformer costs between $10,000 and $50,000, meaning the brothers’ crimes, while serious, pale in comparison to the scale of looting carried out by elites with state backing.
The Chibunhe brothers used a red Honda Fit to move across Gweru between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., targeting transformers, stealing oil, and selling it to omnibus operators. They were part of a broader syndicate that included James Mahachi and Francis Madziva. Only the lower-level actors have faced the full force of the law.
In contrast, despite numerous court appearances and media exposes, Chivayo remains unscathed—frequently pictured rubbing shoulders with top ZANU-PF officials, and flaunting wealth on social media.
The contrast is damning—and speaks to a justice system that comes down hard on the powerless while shielding the powerful.