MILLICENT HUNGWE
An elderly woman from Triangle lost five cattle that went missing in August, with three of them later recovered following a community tip-off and police investigations.
On 22 August around 7:30 AM, Yurita Makaza (69) of Village 5, Masimbaevanhu in Triangle released her herd of eight cattle to graze unattended.
Later that day, at around 5:30 PM, she went to round them up for penning and discovered that five were missing.
She did not immediately report the incident to the police.
More than a month later, on 27 September around 11 AM, police at ZRP Triangle received information from a villager in Masunda, Village 28, who had recovered a black calf.
When the villager confronted the suspect in possession of the animal, the suspect fled from the scene.
Police attended the scene and recovered the calf.
On 29 September, Makaza made an official report after positively identifying the recovered calf as one of her missing cattle.
Acting on further leads, the police and the complainant made follow-up inquiries which led to the recovery of two more beasts from Forget Mubhoi (33) of Village 2, Bhomba area in Triangle. Mubhoi is a well-known cattle buyer in the area.
The main suspect is still at large, and his full details are not yet known, the total value of the five stolen cattle is USD $1,600, and so far, beasts worth USD $900 have been recovered.
ZRP Masvingo Province Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa told The Midweek Watch that, police are appealing for information that may lead to the arrest of the suspect and have urged the public to desist from buying livestock without proper documentation.
“We urge members of the public not to buy stock where there is no clear documentation,” he said.
