CAUGHT RED HANDED! Guard jailed for stealing diesel and joyriding in ambulance

The soldier was jailed four years for the offence

B-Metro Reporter

A ZIBAGWE RDC security guard has landed himself behind bars after he turned a council ambulance into his personal whip and topped it up with stolen diesel.
Leon Mawadza (57) from Amaveni, Kwekwe, was convicted at the Kwekwe Magistrates’ Court for siphoning 80 litres of diesel from a parked truck and using a Zibagwe Rural District Council ambulance without permission.

He pulled the stunt on the night of 5 May 2025, taking the council ambulance for an illegal spin under the cover of darkness. The scheme hit a pothole when the rightful driver discovered an unexplained mileage increase and a still warm engine the next morning.

Busted and cornered, Mawadza confessed to tampering with the vehicle’s logbook and stealing diesel to fuel his late-night escapade.
He was slapped with eight months behind bars and ordered to cough up a US$350 fine payable by 30 June 2025.
“Public property is not for personal use,” warned the National Prosecuting Authority. “Let this be a warning. Accountability matters.”