Zesa blames councils for street light blackout

A wave of violent muggings has hit the cities of Bulawayo and Chitungwiza, plunging residents into fear and frustration as entire suburbs remain in darkness due to street light disconnections.

The blackout crisis has been linked to a payment standoff between local authorities and Zesa Holdings, the national power utility. Zesa's distribution arm, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), confirmed that the outages stem from councils' failure to purchase prepaid electricity tokens for newly installed meters.

"The current outages result directly from local authorities not purchasing tokens for the prepaid meters we installed," ZETDC said in a statement. The utility noted that it had communicated with municipalities about the meter transition since June last year, with final written notices issued in May 2025 warning of disconnections.

While the meters were initially installed with starter units  -  50 for single-phase and 200 for three-phase connections  -  the councils reportedly failed to buy further top-ups, leading to the disconnection of public lighting.

As a result, criminals have taken advantage of the pitch-dark streets, with reports of a sharp increase in muggings, thefts, and other violent crimes across several high-density suburbs. In Bulawayo's Nketa and Pumula, and in Chitungwiza's Units L and H, residents say the absence of lighting has turned once-busy streets into danger zones.

"The lights went off two weeks ago and since then it's been a free-for-all for thieves," said Thabani Sibanda, a vendor in Bulawayo whose stall was ransacked twice in the past week. "We need action, not excuses about who should pay for what."

Residents in Chitungwiza echoed the concern. "We are living in fear. Just last night three people were robbed on our street," said Nomalanga Ndlovu from Unit L.

In response to the security threat, residents in some areas of Bulawayo have started community patrols to escort women and workers traveling after dark. Others are pooling resources to install solar-powered lights in key locations while awaiting official action.

Shalvar Chikomba, national chairperson of the Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations and Residents Trust, condemned both the Bulawayo and Chitungwiza councils for their failure to safeguard residents.

"This bureaucratic paralysis is costing lives daily," Chikomba said. "Councils must immediately prioritise citizen safety and restore street lighting."

ZETDC said it was working with councils to expedite meter registration and assist with bulk token purchases, but residents say such measures are too slow in the face of escalating danger.

With winter deepening and nightfall arriving earlier each day, residents fear the situation will worsen unless urgent action is taken to restore street lighting and improve public safety.