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THE trial of two suspected cattle rustlers who allegedly wreaked havoc in Chivhu and Buhera took a new twist last week with defence lawyers exposing glaring discrepancies between the cattle reported lost and those recovered by the police.
The suspects, Taperesu Chivavava (45) of Plot Number 10, Hebron Farm and Pascah Sengende (37) Farm Number 481 Lancashire, Chivhu allegedly stole 72 cattle, 42 of which were positively identified by their owners.
Chivhu magistrate, Mr Archie Wochiwunga, remanded the pair in custody to October 28 for continuation of trial. Their trial last Friday generated a lot of interests as farmers from Chivhu and Buhera stampeded for space in the public gallery to catch a glimpse of the pair suspected of stealing cattle in the respective farming communities between May 3 and September 15, 2014.
Rusape-based lawyer, Mr Maxwell Chiwanza, of Chiwanza and Partners Legal Practitioners is representing the two, who are denying the allegations.
Mr Chiwanza argued that cattle recovered by the police did not belong to the complainants as they were not the ones reported as lost by the complainants. Chivavava and Sengede allegedly stole the cattle from Mr Peter Declerk, Ms Patricia Ann Blignaught and Chikomba Rural District Council chief executive officer, Mr Luckson Mutara, among other victims.
They allegedly descended on Declerk’s Plot 7 in Chivhu and stole 10 cattle valued at $5 000.
The cattle were listed as eight brown hornless cows with personal brand marks KIE, a black hornless cow and a black ox with brand marks LLE on the right foreleg.
The cattle were allegedly taken to the two’s farms where the brand marks were obliterated and replaced with JJ on the left hind leg of each.
Mr Chiwanza argued that Sengende had 52 cattle at his farm and the other cattle that were discovered during investigations belonged to neighbours and had been grazing in his plot which is not demarcated.
“Of the cattle belonging to both the accused, there are no cattle belonging to the complainant whose brand marks had been tampered with. The cattle alleged to have been recovered are at variance with the cattle reported stolen by complainant to the police,” argued Mr Chiwanza.
The court heard that on September 15, 2014, the two went to Blignaught Farm and stole 16 cattle with brand marks JJ, plus a farm brand mark on the left foreleg. The cows were allegedly driven to the accused’s farms.
Chivavava allegedly sold two of the stole cattle to Tonderai Mataruka, of Farm Number 3 and 4 Macdel, Chivhu. The stole cattle are valued at $7 000.
The State further alleged that on May 2, 2015, the suspects returned to the same farm and stole four cattle valued at $2 500, and took them to Chivavava’s farms, where the cattle were identified on May 19, having already been rebranded JJ on the left hind leg.
Mr Chiwanza disputed the assertions arguing that his clients never acted in common purpose and never went to the farm. On May 15, the two went to Mutara’s farm and stole 12 cattle valued at $8 000. The stolen cattle had a V-cut on the right ear. They were allegedly driven to Farm 481 where the two allegedly rebranded them with JJ brand marks. The branding iron was recovered. “The cattle recovered by the complainant, who alleges they belong to him are totally different from cattle reported missing on September 18, 2014. The cattle sold to Tonderai Mataruka belonged to Chivavava and have nothing to do with those the complainant alleges were stolen. The discrepancy on the cattle alleged to have been recovered by the complainant and the cattle they reported lost shows that the cattle never belonged to the complainant,” said Mr Chiwanza.
Online Reporter