Two suspects accused of copper theft that caused extensive damage to the sub-power kiosk in Bukalo appeared before Magistrate Beatrice Sibalatani in the Ngoma Periodical Court yesterday.

Thirty-six-year-old Siyanga Muchila and 28-year-old Ntuka Lilato are charged on two counts, theft of copper wire and malicious damage to property.

The two Namibian male suspects were apprehended on Monday night while allegedly attempting to dig up copper wire in Bukalo.

In their attempt, they cut electric cables that caused damage to the sub-power kiosk.

Police Community Liaison Officer Chief Inspector Kisco Sitali said the police have been tracking the suspects for a while.

"These are the people of interest that we have been following through our sources, through information from community members and our sources, and these people have been put on surveillance, so yesterday we received a tip-off from one of the sources that these people, although they are non-residents of Bukalo, used to come either from Katima or from other areas to come and steal this copper wire."

Sitali said the cases of copper wire theft have come a long way and thanked the Bukalo Village council for the initiative to debush the area.

"We started receiving these cases since 2023, and as you can see from the sites we were inspecting here, it's a massive damage to the infrastructure, and the Namibian police will not sit idle, and we thank the Bukalo village council management for the initiative that they are going to clear this land or this area so that the visibility can be enhanced."

Investigations into the copper wire market are ongoing, and the police cannot reveal much at this stage.

The Chief Executive Officer for Bukalo Village Council, Ntwala Sazita, appealed to landowners to build on their plots, while the council will debush the area to help with police patrols.

"The land has already been allocated, but construction is not being done. Nevertheless, as a village council, we have advertised a bid whereby we are going to debush the area, which will make it easier for the police to patrol."