Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura
A 49-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man has been sentenced to six months in prison after conniving with a conductor to transport explosives using public transport.
Giant Mudimba (49) of Flat 6 Court Simon, along Parirenyatwa Street, has been convicted for illegally transporting explosives in public transport, a decision the court said could have ended in tragedy far worse than a courtroom sentence.
Western Commonage magistrate Jeconia Prince Ncube handed Mudimba a six-month jail term, with three months suspended for three years on condition of good behaviour, meaning he will serve an effective three months behind bars to reflect on his travel logistics.
Mudimba pleaded guilty, while his co-accused, Inter Africa conductor Takunda Dzichauya (24) and driver Brighton Michael Chimbidzikai (40), both of whom denied wrongdoing, were granted US$30 bail each and remanded to May 27 for trial.
Prosecutor Cathrine Kuzu told the court that Mudimba had acquired 123 emulites and 100 capped fuses, valued at about US$300.
On May 13, 2026 at around 12PM, at Lobengula Street between 12th and 13th Avenue in Bulawayo, where Inter Africa buses load passengers and goods bound for Mphoengs and Plumtree.
The court heard that Mudimba teamed up with the conductor and driver to load the explosives into bus registration AGL 6241, neatly packed in a brown sack like it was just another “normal luggage item.”
The bus set off with Dzichauya as conductor and Chimbidzikai behind the wheel, while Mudimba stayed behind in Bulawayo like a man delegating a very bad idea.
The journey did not go far before fate intervened in the form of a security roadblock.
Police conducted a routine search and discovered the suspicious brown sack containing the 123 emulites and 100 capped fuses
The two crew members were immediately arrested.
Dzichauya and Chimbidzikai told police Mudimba was the owner of the explosives, leading to his swift arrest.
The case has revived memories of a previous tragic incident in Zimbabwe.
At least 18 people are suspected to have died when a Toyota Quantum kombi, suspected to be unlawfully transporting explosives, caught fire and exploded on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road on April 16, 2026. The blast was so severe that the vehicle was reduced to a twisted shell.
