Serial Lalapanzi cattle rustler gets 54 years
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THERESA ZIBOWA
MIRROR REPORTER
MVUMA — It doesn’t pay to be a livestock thief as 36-year-old Grandville Farm, Zvishavane man learnt this work after getting 54 years in jail for stealing 49 herds of cattle in the Lalapanzi area near Gweru.
Magistrate Constance Mutandwa sentenced Tinodakufa Hove to 54 years for six counts of stock theft.
The State said sometime in July 2021, complainant Benedict Mugari (81) of 22 Nantes Village Gwanza, Lalapanzi released his herd of cattle to the grazing lands.
On the same day the accused person stole Mugari’s seven head of cattle and drove them to his Grandville Farm.
On the second count on March 29, 2022, Hove went to Methias Toperesu’s MZ4 Tokwe farm in Lalapanzi and stole another seven herd of cattle and drove them to Grandville.
On June 24, 2022 the accused stole seven heard of cattle at Nantes village Gwanza, Lalapanzi and drove them to his farm, on March 27, 2023 he stole 12 herd of cattle from Farm 4 Gwanza in Lalapanzi that belonged to Eliot Matumbu and drove them to his farm.
In that same month, Hove went to the open grazing lands and stole Nomsa Munyimi’s nine herd of cattle which the complainant had released for free ranching and in the same area on July 25, 2023, the accused unlawfully took seven herd of cattle from Mushava Brenda’s cattle kraal. The accused person drove the cattle from Gwanza West Village to Gamwa area.
He was intercepted while driving the cattle by Enia Madekwana who questioned him about the owner of the seven cattle he was driving. The accused person replied that the seven bovines were from Mr Moyo who was unknown to Enia Madekwana and the accused went on driving the cattle.
The accused person was later intercepted by Marko Tibugare, Runesu Tibugare and Zenzo Tibugare whilst driving the seven bovines and he ran away but they gave chase and caught him.
Takudzwa Matyawaviri stood for the state.