Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
A TEENAGER will spend the next five years behind bars after he was caught red-handed cutting up vital railway infrastructure like a scene from a heist movie!
Pride Tapiwa Rupapa (19) of Yeovil, Mutare, thought he could make a quick buck by raiding the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) Workshop.
Armed with bolt cutters and pliers, Rupapa sliced through nine metres of locomotive traction motor cables from a stationary engine early in the morning on 14 April 2025.
But luck wasn’t on his side.
An alert NRZ Loss Control Officer spotted him mid-crime, called for backup, and together they hunted down the teenage vandal just metres away from the scene.
He was caught red-handed with the stolen cables and his cutting tools.
The total damage was pegged at US$550, but thanks to the quick response, all the stolen property was recovered.
The Mutare Magistrates’ Court threw the book at Rupapa, convicting him under the Railways Act [Chapter 13:09], which cracks down hard on anyone who willfully damages railway property.
He, according to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), was sentenced to a straight 5 years in prison — no fines, no suspensions.
Authorities are reminding the public that tampering with critical infrastructure is not just a petty crime — it’s economic sabotage!
