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Victor Maphosa-Mashonaland East Bureau
Barely a month after cattle rustlers killed six steers in Chivhu, another farmer in the same district, Mr Evious Mbokochena (72), last week lost two cows to thieves who are now being sought by police.
Mashonaland East police spokesperson Inspector Simon Chazovachiyi said that on Monday last week at around 5pm, the farmer’s herdboy enclosed 45 cattle in the kraal but the next day at around 7am when he went to the kraal he found that a brown hornless ox and a grayish one were missing.
He told Mr Mbokochena and the two searched and found out that the missing cattle had been slaughtered at a nearby farm.
The thieves left the heads, hides and bones at the scene. Two plastic bags full of meat weighing 15kg were also recovered.
These two recent thefts have left farmers in Chivhu and surrounding areas having sleepless nights as the rustlers involved in both cases are still to be accounted for.
Early last month, 21 cattle were stolen from a farm in Trelawney, Banket, with nine of them being slaughtered and deboned within an hour. The culprits were never found.
On the spot were 37 brand new knives, empty sacks, and two bags that had already been stuffed with meat.
In another recent case, a herd of cattle was driven by thieves from a pen in Selous. Alert police officers spotted one of the rustlers at around 2am, before he escaped.
Three men from Harare recently appeared at the Karoi Magistrates’ Court where they were jailed for nine years each for stealing cattle in Karoi and selling the meat in Harare. Tapiwa Tsingidzi (34) was from Dzivaresekwa, and Fast Mutata (40) and Emmerson Makahamadze (36) were both from Kuwadzana.
Online Reporter