LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-More than 20 households in Area 25C were left without electricity on the morning of Saturday, 14 February, after suspected thieves allegedly stole black service cables connected to Electricity Supply of Malawi (ESCOM) power lines.
Residents say they woke up to darkness after experiencing a sudden power outage during the night.
Because it had been raining, many initially assumed the blackout was caused by bad weather.
Speaking to Maravipost one of the victims, Rose Banda said her family only realized something was wrong when electricity did not return in the morning.
“In the middle of the night, the power went off. Since it was raining, we thought it was just a fault,” Banda explained.
“When we woke up, we found that the metal box where ESCOM staff connect the electricity had been forced open, and the black wire was gone.”
Banda who rents the property with her family, said she immediately alerted her landlord, who lives nearby.
“When I went to inform the landlord, we discovered that their house had also been affected. That’s when we realized many houses in the area were victims,” she said.
Another resident, Innocent Mainga, suggested that the theft may have been motivated by the copper inside the cables.
“We have heard that these wires contain copper. That could be the reason the thieves targeted our area,” he said.
Cable theft has become an increasing concern in many communities, as stolen copper is often sold illegally for scrap.
The crime not only disrupts power supply but also exposes residents to safety risks due to damaged electrical infrastructure.
Affected households have called on authorities and Eskom to urgently address the situation and strengthen security measures to prevent further incidents.
Residents say the outage has disrupted daily activities, including cooking, refrigeration, and small home businesses that depend on electricity.
At the time of reporting, it was clear that no arrests has been made but Community members are urging anyone with information about the incident to report it to local authorities.
ESCOM staff have not visited the area since the incident, even though several victims say they have been calling reporting the issue since Saturday.
