Esigodini man in court for theft of various livestock

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

AN Esigodini man has appeared in a court of law on charges of stock theft.

The man Tafadzwa Muza was arraigned before the courts, after he was found in possession of variety of livestock he allegedly stole and was keeping in Mbembesi, Matabeleland North.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson, Inspector Glory Banda said Muza (25) was arrested following a tip-off that he was keeping cattle, donkeys, goats and sheep suspected to have been stolen.

Insp Banda said two herd of cattle, three donkeys, 18 sheep and 70 goats belonging to 20 villagers were recovered from Muza’s place of residence.

“On the 8^th of October 2022, police in Mbembesi arrested Muza from Esigodini after a tip-off that he was keeping livestock suspected to have been stolen,” said Insp Banda.

Insp Banda said acting on the tip-off, police visited the place and recovered the livestock.

Twenty villagers positively identified their livestock leading to Muza’s arrest.

Insp Banda said Muza has since appeared in court and was remanded in custody to next week.

The stolen livestock were valued at more than US$6 000 and were all recovered.

He urged members of the public to make sure their livestock is branded with identifiable brands obtainable from the department of veterinary services.

“Some can even brand their cattle with personal brands. This is for easy identification in case of theft or loss of livestock,” said Insp Banda.

“We are saying to members of the public, we should always make sure we use livestock brands on our animals so that if they are stolen or lost, it will be easy to identify them and link them to their owners,” said Insp Banda.