
* One suspect has since been arrested in connection with the incident after forest guards found him cutting down one of the poles
* The saboteurs cut down eight wooden poles, stole six spans of aluminum conductor and line accessories
By Duncan Mlanjira
The public expressed their shock on a Facebook picture post of a vandalised Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) overhead power transmission line in Dzalanyama Forest in Lilongwe on Friday.

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A statement from ESCOM says this is not the first time for the portion of the 11kV Bunda overhead line to be vandalized at Dzalanyama Forest, saying the saboteurs cut down eight wooden poles, stole six spans of aluminum conductor and line accessories.
“One suspect has since been arrested in connection with the incident after forest guards found him cutting down one of the poles,” said the statement. “Some 50 metres of aluminum conductor was recovered from the scene of the incident.
“This is a second case of vandalism on the same line after a similar incident which occurred in May 2022 when the vandals stole 3.1km portion of the line worth K36 million.

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“Four people were then arrested and the case is still being heard in court. The line is yet to be energized following the vandalism of the 3.1km portion soon after being commissioned.”
The line, which was constructed under the Malawi Rural Electrification Programme, is intended to supply electricity to communities inside Dzalanyama Forest.
ESCOM management assures the public that they will keep updating them on emerging issues surrounding the incident which is under investigation.
“ESCOM strongly condemns this unpatriotic behaviour as it is hampering our efforts to increase the electricity access rate by reaching out to the remotest areas.”

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In response, Clever Kalua described the disgraceful as a sign of intellectual and poverty while being incredulous that the saboteurs could carry out such a dangerous operation.
Limbani Msosa Mwale described as “retarded, debased and very regressive mindset with Marcus Tigonegone Chavura saying: “I curse the ones that did this evil. May their eyes never see light again; may they become desolate and abundoned in life; may they be frustrated and be blind in the name of the Lord. Let the wrath of God be on their head till eternity! I speak as the Prophet in the Land.”
Penyerera Mithi said: “Ohhh my goodness! What kind of idiots do we have in our society?” while Arthur Nsanjama was just in shock as the rest, saying: “A sad sight but this should be a wake-up call to ESCOM to migrate from wooden poles to concrete structures as concrete has more advantages than wood or steel.”
Last year, as the country kept experiencing power load shedding due to many factors that include loss of 130 megawatts lost at Kapichira Hydro Power Station due to Cyclone Ana, ESCOM said they were losing an average of five transformers a month which cost around K4 million to replace.
This vandalism affects ESCOM’s operations as a major setback in connecting new customers since transformers are paramount in any connection.
ESCOM keeps imploring on the public to safeguard ESCOM infrastructure because once they are tampered with, it affects the whole economy.
In December last year, Ndirande Police arrested two people after they were intercepted in possession of 300m of ESCOM power lines wires valued at K900,000, which are suspected to have been vandalized in Lirangwe.

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