Hwange :Two senior employees of the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), have appeared in court. The duo are facing serious charges of theft involving company property valued at a staggering US$3,896,000.
Tawanda Mhaka a Stores Officer and Ruth Chiyani a Loss Control Assistant are accused of orchestrating a high-level theft operation involving valuable company assets including 15 electric motors, 48 tonnes of brass pipes and a large metal container. The incident according to reports took place on the 22nd and 23rd of August 2025 and was caught on CCTV footage at the ZPC Turbine Hall.
An alleged third accomplice identified as Hardlife Zimwenje is still at large. Zimwenje is believed to have provided haulage trucks used to ferry the stolen materials. Authorities have launched a manhunt for Zimwenje.
According to court documents and investigative findings, the stolen goods were moved without proper documentation thereby raising suspicion. Ruth Chiyani, whose role was to oversee asset protection and loss control, is accused of failing to produce invoices or any formal authorization for the removal of the items.
Meanwhile, Tawanda Mhaka is alleged to have instructed a boilermaker to cut one of the electric motors and a storage container so as to make it easier to load them onto the trucks.
The pair was arrested on the 11th of September 2025 and investigators say the evidence against them is substantial. Apart from the CCTV footage, prosecutors have also cited signed removal authority documents linking both Mhaka and Chiyani directly to the unauthorized removal of the assets.
The accused were remanded in custody and are expected to return to court on the 26th of September 2025.
