adminThe officer commanding police in Beitbridge District, Chief Superintendent Lawrence Chinhengo, said the suspects, Daniel Makhalima Moyo (78) believed to be the mastermind, his 28-year-old son, Nhlanhla Moyo, Obvious Nare (20) and Thembinkosi Khumalo all from Shanyaugwe area in Gwanda district, were arrested at Zezani in Beitbridge following a tip-off.
“We arrested four suspects, one of them Daniel Makhalima Moyo who was on bail for a similar case and we recovered 19 stolen cattle. Our investigations indicate that Makhalima Moyo and his son stole 15 cattle from Shanyaugwe and drove them to Zezani area in Beitbridge where they stole four more beasts before tampering with the brand marks and dehorning some of the animals,” he said.
The two suspects were spotted by local villagers who then reported the matter to the police leading to their arrest. They then implicated the other two suspects, Nare and Khumalo.
Chief Supt Chinhengo said eight of the stolen cattle have since been positively identified by the owners. The animals are kept at Zezani under police custody.
“We are appealing to members of the public who have missing cattle to report to Zezani Police Station so that they can possibly identify their stolen cattle,” he said.
Chief Supt Chinhengo said they had intensified the fight against stock theft in the district.
The worst affected areas in Matabeleland South are Shanyaugwe, Zezani, Tshitulipasi and Tuli.
“We are on a warpath against cattle rustlers and we would like to believe that the syndicate could be involving more suspects and we are investigating. We are also appealing to community members to assist us with relevant information,” said Chief Supt Chinhengo.
He said the suspects would appear in court soon on stock theft charges.
Cattle ranching is the main economic activity for several communities in Matabeleland South.
Some of the stolen cattle are reportedly smuggled into neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Mozambique.
In an effort to curb organised cross-border stock theft activities, some Beitbridge villagers living in areas along Limpopo River have since formed a joint anti-stock committee with
their South African counterparts to fight the criminal activity.
Villagers said most of their stolen livestock was smuggled into South Africa and Mozambique through Madimbo and Sengwe corridors.
Online Reporter