Cattle rustler jailed nine years

The conviction has been welcomed by the National Prosecuting Authority, which described the matter as a severe violation of trust and a grave crime against a vulnerable child.

Yeukai Karengezeka-Court Correspondent

A 25-year-old man from Chikokonya Village under Chief Chinamhora, Norest Mugovewashe Tswanhi, has been jailed nine years for stealing cattle.

Tswanhi pleaded guilty to stock theft charges when he appeared before Harare Magistrate Rufaro Panavanhu.

The prosecution, led by Mr Boniface Musvaire, showed that Tswanhi and accomplice Victor Mhaka, who is still at large, stole a black ox with small white patches and another with sharp horns from the farm of his uncle, Freedom Mhaka, in Murungweni Village on July 27.

The stolen cattle were valued at US$500.

Tswanhi and Mhaka took advantage of his uncle’s absence and drove the stolen cattle nine kilometers to Chikokonya Village, where they handed them over to Mhaka’s sister, Tecla Mhaka (58), for safekeeping.

Freedom Mhaka discovered the theft the following morning and mobilised villagers to help track the stolen cattle.

A tip-off led Constable Charunda and Constable Rusere to Tswanhi and Tecla, who were attempting to sell one of the stolen oxen for US$350.

The police officers posed as buyers and were led to a mountain where the ox was tied to a tree.

Freedom positively identified the ox, leading to the arrest of Tswanhi and Tecla.

Tecla pleaded not guilty, and her trial is pending. The court recovered the full value of the stolen cattle which is US$500.