THE FAMILY of the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) electrician Clinton Mhlanga, who died in Gwanda on Friday afternoon, has said it cannot rule out the possibility of foul play, but will wait for the company to conduct investigations to ascertain the cause of the disaster.
LUYANDUHLOBO MAKWATI OWN CORRESPONDENT The Mhlanga family said it had been hard for them to come to terms with what happened to their son, but would pursue the issue after ZETDC compiles a report of what happened on that fateful day.
Mhlanga is likely to be buried today at West Park Cemetery in Bulawayo.
His uncle Steven Mhlanga said they were waiting for ZETDC to provide a comprehensive report on how the wrong breaker was switched off resulting in their son’s death.
“I cannot say much now,” Mhlanga said.
“We are running around with burial arrangements and we are waiting for a comprehensive report that his employers will give us,” he said.
Mhlanga said the family could not totally rule out swirling rumours among some his colleagues that they suspected foul play and was inviting them to come forward and explain to the family what transpired.
Mhlanga died in a Bulawayo hospital on Friday from severe burns sustained after being electrocuted while fixing a 33-kilovolt transformer in Colleen Bawn.
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It is reported that a wrong breaker was switched off and he was electrocuted when he touched the live wires.
A ZETDC employee said one of Mhlanga’s eyes was blown off and he fell to the ground breaking his legs in the process.
Some ZETDC employees suspected foul play saying Mhlanga was such an experienced electrician and could not have touched live wires without following the necessary safety procedures.
Some revealed that when Mhlanga initially touched the wires, there was no power and they were boggled how power was suddenly restored.
They believe that one of the workers might have switched on the breaker during the servicing of the power station.
Hardly a month passes by without incidences of electrocution involving ZETDC employees.
Mhlanga is survived by two children and mourners are gathered at 13758 Cowdray Park in Bulawayo.
