Plea to ZESA as burglaries surge

By Liberty Mutamba

CRIMINALS in Gwanda’s Spitzkop North are taking advantage of darkness in the area to rob people.
There has been an upsurge of crime in Spitzkop North, with reports of burglaries fuelled by unavailability of electricity in the ever-expanding suburb.
Residents interviewed said they were constantly living in fear of being mugged or robbed and urged the power utility, ZESA, to come to their rescue by installing electricity in the suburb.
“We have talked about this Zesa Issue countless times and nothing has been done. I recently lost property worth a lot to thieves who forced themselves inside my house during midnight.
“I have not been the only victim and this is happening often as the thieves are taking advantage of the darkness,” Sizakele Ndlovu, a Spitzkop North resident said.
A number of residents fear that the onset of the rains has fuelled this, as illegal gold panners can no longer work in open shaft mining activities and have turned to robberies.
However, a gold miner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, shot down the allegations.
“Some allegations maybe true but some are exaggerated. People take advantage of us to commit crimes. Some house break-in activities would have been masterminded by people who then go on to tarnish our image,” he said.
Meanwhile, the recurring property loss saw the Local Peace Committee partnering with stakeholders and local businesses to fight crime in the area.
Social Economic Justice Ambassador (SEJA) Siduduzile Masilela, who chairs the local peace committee, is already constructing a police base in Spitzkop.
“We are a local peace committee under Christian Alliance and our mandate is to spread peace and harmony amongst people.
“We have identified Spitzkop as a hive of criminal activities and we are currently building a police base there as a way of trying to arrest the growing number of robberies in people’s houses there,” said Masilela.
Zesa Regional Senior Engineer, Mushayapasi, directed all questions to Headquarters in Harare.
“I cannot comment on this issue, we have an appropriate office for that. You should liaise with Zesa Public Relations Department at the Headquarters, who are allowed to talk to the Press,” he said.