Is K900k fine slapped on Neelkanth for “stealing copper cables” worth over K3m justifiable?

Neelkanth Cables, a company based outside Ndola, in Masaiti to be specific was recently embroiled in a scandal involving theft of copper cable belonging to ZESCO, a state owned power utility company.

Neelkanth Cables Managing Director Anand Wadhwan and Operations Manager Raphael Mundeya where jointly arrested, Charged and consequently fined K900, 000 (K900k) for being found in possession of ZESCO copper cables worth over K3 Million.

ZESCO Spokesperson Matongo Maumbi confirmed the Zambian Business Times (ZBT) that “the case against Neelkanth Cables Limited was prosecuted and concluded by the Ndola Magistrates Court, in October 2024. Maumbi further confirmed that Neelkanth Cables was convicted and fined K900,000 for three offenses related to illegal handling of scrap metal, the seized materials (4,026 kg (about 4 tons) of copper cables and transformer windings) were forfeited to the state and returned to ZESCO to support infrastructure recovery,”

Lately, incidents of copper cable theft have been on an increase, obviously due to the continued rise of the price of copper on international markets.

In Zambia, Copper mining and export is the main stay of the economy and accounts for over 70% of export earnings.

Analysts say that although there are several other cases that ZESCO has won, the Neelkanth scenario is baffling considering the value of theft (4 tons of semiprocessed copper is valued at $9,500 per ton * 4 tons) which is well over K1 million, with cables which are a finished good expected to fetch over K3 million in value terms. So, the fine of K900k for a theft valued at over K3 million has aroused suspicion.

How did the Magistrate court system arrive at giving such a lowly fine? when in actual sense we are referring to say K3 million worth of cables. This is a disparity that must be investigated by responsible law enforcement agents – and this raises further questions over the sanctity of the Zambian justice system in this regard.

Firstly we must consider the magnitude of value as well as the size of company the convicted.

For instance, in November 2024, ZESCO recorded a K5.7 million loss due to vandalism, so this case could have been used as a benchmark especially that big companies such as Neelkanth Cables is involved Further, there are indications that Neelkanth Managing Director Anand Wadhwan had fled the country, which further raises many suspicions.

Why exit the country when your company’s case has not been solved? Or is there is something more than meets the eye?

And when a question was put to ZESCO by ZBT over the reports that the Neelkanth MD had exited Zambia, Maumbi responded that “Matters pertaining to individuals, including arrests or releases, fall under the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies and the courts, ZESCOs mandate in this case is focused on recovering stolen materials, we defer to the Zambia Police and the National Prosecutions Authority for updates on individual persecutions.”

With an avalanche of questions still hanging over this matter, there is a sense of injustice at play, that calls for further review of the case and the officers that handled it.

When asked whether ZESCO has abandoned the case, Maumbi responded that “ZESCO has not abandoned this case, the successful prosecution of Neelkanth and recovery of stolen materials underscore our resolve to protect national infrastructure.”

Neelkanth Cables, a company based outside Ndola,