Mutare (New Ziana) –Two men from Buhera district, Masvingo province were recently sentenced to 18 eighteen years in prison each after being convicted of stealing 13 cattle valued at $4 400.
The pair, Jeffrey Mumanyi (32) from Dzingireni village under chief Nyashanu and Austin Nyepai (24) from Masvingo village under headman Mukwise, denied the charges but was convicted due to overwhelming evidence.
Buhera resident magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzanai presided over the case.
Mumanyi and Dzinbgireni allegedly stole 13 cattle belonging to Pwanyiwa Nzembe (72) from Mushaka village.
Prosecutor Tawonga Mawire told the court that the suspects hatched a plan to steal Nzembe’s beasts and sell them to Unifresh Abattoir in Ruwa on December 10 last year.
“The suspects went to Nzembe’s homestead in Mushaka village under Chief Nyashanu in Buhera during the night and stole 17 cattle which were in the kraal,” said the prosecutor.
Mumanyi hired someone only identified as Dzedzi to transport the stolen cattle and gave him the directions to where they would meet.
The pair drove the cattle to the main Murambinda- Muzokomba road near Manhuru business center, where they waited for the transporter who was coming from Harare.
While there, they selected nine beasts which included two oxen, a bull, two heifers and four cows, and released the other eight cattle into a nearby bush.
Dzenzi arrived at Manhuru business center driving a Hino Ranger truck around 2 AM on December 11 and met the suspects, who loaded the eleven cattle, including two bulls which had been stolen from another complainant.
Mumanyi then told Dzenzi that they had the necessary clearance papers and they took off to Harare using the Dorowa-Wedza road.
While on the way, they were stopped at a police checkpoint in Makamba area at about 3:45 AM and asked to produce the clearance papers for the livestock.
The suspects handed over a movement of animal permit dated December 1, 2021 and a police livestock clearance certificate dated December 2, 2021.
Police officers however noticed that the number and description of the cattle in the truck did not match the one written on the clearance papers, as there were 11 cattle in the truck against 9 indicated on the permit.
The suspects were taken to ZRP Buhera for further investigations, which revealed that all the cattle in the truck had been stolen.
The other remaining eight cattle were later recovered in the bush where they had been left to wander.
New Ziana