Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. A man has been sentenced to five years in jail by a Mvuma magistrate for illegally mining gold beneath a railway line, posing a threat to train safety.
Jonas Tigere, 32, of Village 16, Tokwe 4, was arrested on June 11 by eagle-eyed National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) Loss Control personnel while digging for gold under the tracks.
He was immediately handed over to the police, leading to his appearance in court and conviction.
The NRZ has reiterated its appeal to artisanal miners to cease all mining activities within railway reserve land.
Such activities, the NRZ said, severely destabilise the track formation, directly jeopardising the safe movement of trains and the lives of passengers and crew.
The NRZ stressed that people caught engaging in illegal mining within the designated railway reserve areas face stringent legal consequences, including lengthy mandatory jail terms upon conviction.
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