Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube
A BULAWAYO man has been sentenced after being caught red-handed with property belonging to the National Railways of Zimbabwe.
Simon Mzizi (61) of Vhundu Hostel appeared before Tredgold Magistrate Maxwell Ncube, who handed him eight months imprisonment, with two months suspended on condition of good behaviour. The remaining six months were suspended on condition that he performs 210 hours of community service.
Prosecutor Mehluli Ndlovu told the court that Mzizi was intercepted on 31 August at around 5AM along Khami Road opposite Udine while pushing a cart loaded with a 30kg, 6-metre metal rail. Security guards on patrol immediately arrested him.
When questioned about his possession of the rails, Mzizi failed to give a satisfactory explanation.
The total value of the stolen property was US$1 000, all of which has been recovered. The complainant, the National Railways of Zimbabwe, was represented in court by Mapfumo Samson from Westgate.
Residents who witnessed the arrest said the sight of a septuagenarian man struggling to push the heavy rails down the road was both shocking and bizarre.
Mzizi now faces the dual consequences of community service and a suspended jail term, serving as a warning to anyone thinking of making a quick buck from Zimbabwe’s railways.
