Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda has urged the Judiciary to make the most of Electricity (Amendment) Act 2024 when handling vandalism cases of the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) Limited infrastructure.
He said this in his keynote address when opening stakeholder engagement meetings on the Act in Blantyre on Monday, 5th August 2024. The meeting attracted High Court Judges, Magistrates, criminal investigation detectives and prosecutors from the Malawi Police Service (MPS).
As the guest of honour at the meeting, Mzikamanda urged the Judiciary to apply the Act, which State President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera assented to in June 2024, consistently and holistically while bearing in mind the impact of such acts of vandalism on society.
The Chief Justice observed that theft and vandalism of infrastructure undermine ESCOM’s efforts to fulfill it’s mandate of procuring, transmission and distribution of electricity.
“For quite some time, you have faced numerous challenges in the execution of these mandates…and the first challenge is vandalism. I am, therefore, informed that the recent amendments to the Act were motivated by the desire to deal with vandalism…the actual sentencing particularly by magistrates was low and not deterrent enough in the previous Act. Now, the amended Act has enhanced the penalties…therefore, the role of the Judiciary is in the interpretation and application of these laws,” he said.
He then challenged the Judiciary to help ESCOM fight vandalism which has cost the Corporation K4 billion in the last two years in lost revenue and replacement cost of Distribution and Transmission infrastructure.
“Criminality is a social evil which needs to be dealt with the seriousness it deserves…the courts must acknowledge that they do not operate in a vacuum…therefore, all sentencing principles must be considered and ensure that we strive for consistency and uniformity,” he said.
Speaking earlier, ESCOM Chief Executive Officer, Mr Kamkwamba Kumwenda, said the Corporation spends a lot of money replacing vandalised infrastructure instead of using such resources to maintain its system and connect new customers.
ESCOM Board Director, counsel John-Gift Mwakhwawa, said the Corporation suffers a lot due to vandalism; hence, he hoped the Act would help deal with the vice.
“Increased collaboration in the implementation of this Act is the answer to dealing with vandalism. The police and the public are the key stakeholders in the fight against vandalism. I am pleased that we are here to collaborate for the greater good and I believe we can make a big difference,” he said.
Taking his turn, Police Commissioner of the South-West Division, Noel Kayira, said it was frustrating that some magistrates’ courts do not mete out stiff punishments to convicted offenders of vandalism.
Kayira said MPS is equally concerned and frustrated by the increase in cases of vandalism as such acts reflect badly on the law enforcers’ competence.
“It is important to note that the efficiency of the MPS is generally measured by the absence of crime. Therefore, we can only say we are successful in the fight against vandalism if this is brought to zero. Jointly, we need to put our efforts together to ensure there is a reduction in vandalism,” he said.
Kayira then played the ball back to fellow police officers to desist from conniving with vandalism suspects.
“The law has been amended; hence, we do not have any excuse now. Let us avoid getting corrupted by offenders. Take note that people who are involved in these crimes have money and they will come offering you money,” he said.
Similar meetings will take place in Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Liwonde on 7th, 9th and 12th August, 2024, respectively, to orient the MPS and the Judiciary in the amended Act, amid growing cases of vandalism of assets such as transformers, conductors, earth mats, stay wires and wooden poles.