SYDNEY MUBAIWA
GWERU- A 39-year -old man from Gweru has been slapped with a 10 year jail sentence when he appeared before the Gweru Magistrates Court facing a charge of stealing NRZ copper cables.
According to court records, in the early hours of the 21st of April this year, Owen Muchada (39) and his accomplice Chrispen Hwesa were caught red handed tempering with railway signal copper cables near Fairmile Siding, close to Dabuka in Gweru.
The two were armed with a hacksaw, knives, a shovel and a pick which they used to dig up and cut over 100 meters of signal cables weighing 38kgs.
Muchada escaped from the scene, however his accomplice was arrested on the spot by NRZ security personnel and handed to the police.
Muchada pleaded guilty to the charge while his accomplice opted for a trial.
Their actions posed a major safety risk as these cables are critical for indicating train positions, powering signal lights at railway crossing and preventing collisions of trains
