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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu
A VILLAGER has appealed to the court against a ruling that was made by Chief Mathema from Gwanda ordering him to return a beast that he had been paid as compensation by a fellow villager.
Manford Moyo of Mayezane Village in Gwanda told the court that Chief Mathema made an unfair ruling against him. He said Nhambi Siziba who is his neighbour caused the death of his cow in 2015 and the matter was heard before the headman who ordered Siziba to replace the animal. Moyo said after the headman died in 2017 Siziba approached Chief Mathema and requested to be given his animal back and the chief ruled in his favour.
“Sometime in 2015 Siziba’s son set his dogs on my cow and they attacked it. It sustained injuries and it later died due to the injuries. I then burnt the cow seeing that it was dead. I took the matter to Headman Madlela’s court and Siziba admitted liability and he compensated me with one expectant heifer as the one which died was also expectant.
“After Headman Madlela’s death in 2017 Siziba approached Chief Mathema and demanded his cow back. Chief Mathema summoned me to his court sometime in November 2017 and instructed me to give the cow back to Siziba as I had burnt mine. I’m not satisfied with the judgment that Chief Mathema gave as he made the ruling without hearing my side of the story as to why I burnt the beast,” he said.
Moyo begged the court to overrule the judgment that was made by Chief Mathema as it was not justified.
In his response Chief Mathema said when he made the ruling he took into consideration that Moyo’s cow died during the drought season. He said after its death the cow was not examined to ascertain what could have caused its death.
Chief Mathema also said he considered that the cow had become of age and it had been reported ill several times. He said Mr Moyo had failed to provide proof that the death of his beast had really been caused by the harassment by dogs and not by any of the above mentioned factors.
Presiding over the matter Gwanda magistrate, Lerato Nyathi ruled that Headman Madlela’s judgment was supposed to be retained and the one by Chief Mathema had to be set aside. He ordered Siziba to return the beast in dispute to Moyo together with its three calves which it now had.
@DubeMatutu
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