Kudakwashe Chigwa faces two counts of criminal activity:
stock theft and criminal abuse of office.
According to court records, on October 13 this year at
around 2pm, police received a tip-off that a villager named Ishmael Sibanda was
slaughtering cattle at his homestead in Mvurachena Village, Lambamai, Fort
Rixon without police clearance.
Police proceeded to the villager’s homestead and upon
arrival, asked for a stock clearance receipt, which he produced.
It was stated that on the day in question, Chigwa connived
with Sibanda and another suspect, Justin Zijena, to steal four cattle belonging
to Oliver Chiropa and slaughtered them.
“The accused person was clearing livestock in civilian
attire and introduced himself as a police officer stationed at ZRP Zvishavane.
Oliver Chiropa, a local farmer, positively identified four hides and two heads
of cattle, which had been cleared by the accused person and slaughtered by
Ishmael Sibanda as his,” read the document.
Chigwa was arrested after it was discovered that he did not
follow procedure in clearing cattle.
The accused person was asked to produce permits to prove
that he had been tasked to clear cattle in Fort Rixon, which is beyond his
jurisdiction, while he was in civilian attire, which does not fall under his
area of operation and he had none.
“The accused person was arrested and a ZRP Zvishavane 392
Book 75/24, which contained the page he had cleared cattle serial number
4261642, was recovered,” read the document.
The recovered ZRP Zvishavane 392 book 75/24 was inspected,
where it was then established that Chigwa had allegedly removed top copies of
the book.
“The accused person was asked why he removed top copies on
the serial numbers leaving duplicate copies uncompleted and he failed to give a
satisfactory answer leading to his arrest.”
Chigwa’s arrest follows the recent appearance of a gang of
nine men in court accused of running a cattle rustling operation in Fort Rixon.
The nine are alleged to have stolen and skinned 28 cattle from a local farmer.
The incident occurred in August when the gang devised a plan to target the
farmer’s herd.
After an extensive search, law enforcement authorities
apprehended the suspects on October 13. During the investigations, police
recovered five skinned carcasses and two heads of cattle that were positively
identified by Chiropa. It was further stated that 26 hides were found in
possession of the suspects.
The gang comprises Ishmael Sibanda (31) from Mvurachena C
Village in Fort Rixon; Justin Zijena (48) from Mandava, Zvishavane; Josphat
Makuvaza (48) from Tatenda Village, Lambamai, Fort Rixon; Piraishe Mandende
(35) from Lambamai, Fort Rixon; Peter Tiziri (44) from Gwamanyanga Village,
Fort Rixon; Trust Ndlovu (34) from Mkiweni A, Lambamai, Fort Rixon; Justice
Zhou (35) from Mvurachena C Village, Lambamai, Fort Rixon; and Sabelo Moyo from
Mxotshwa Village, Zvishavane.
The surge in cattle theft has prompted authorities to
implement various strategies, including the formation of community-based
anti-rustling monitoring groups. Rustlers often target rural areas on the
outskirts of major cities like
Bulawayo, where they
can find a ready market for stolen meat.
In another incident, police recently arrested a suspect,
Bhekilizwe Nyathi, who is believed to be part of a gang that stole and
slaughtered five cattle in the same area.
The gang attempted to smuggle the carcasses to a butchery
in Bulawayo’s Magwegwe suburb.
Following that case, a 71-year-old woman from Ntabazinduna
in Umguza District, Matabeleland North Province, Sithabile Ngwenya, also
appeared in court for allegedly stealing a herd of 20 cattle, valued at over
US$16 000, in three separate incidents. Chronicle
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