About 100 houses in Ng’ombe’s Minestone area have been facing a power outage for over a week following lightning that struck the ZESCO transformer on 28th February 2026.
According to the residents, the outage has resulted in damaged fresh food stuffs, which has since affected their finances and budgeting as they now have to buy food on a daily basis.
They have said they reported the matter to ZESCO and are yet to receive a positive response.
The residents have added that the power outage has affected water supply, as the area depends on borehole pumps for clean and safe drinking water, which are no longer working—resulting in the community relying on shallow wells.
They have further stated that the outage has affected businesses, as some butcheries, salons, and barber shops have also experienced losses.
Other residents have resorted to using generators as a source of power, as they suspect that load shedding has returned.
Meanwhile, ZESCO says they are unable to respond to the matter as of now.
By Mutinta Hamusankwa
