Siphakeme .Mnindwa
Trish Mukwazo, [email protected]
THREE suspected cattle rustlers, arrested while attempting to sell 11 stolen cattle at the Cold Storage Company (CSC) depot in Bulawayo, have been granted bail.
Trust Mpofu (37) of Nkulumane suburb, Prince Dube (40) of John West village under Chief Marupi and 31-year-old Mthuthukisi Msizi of Pumula North suburb are alleged to have stolen the cattle from Botswana.
They appeared before Bulawayo provincial magistrate, Mrs Nomagugu Maphosa yesterday.
She granted the trio US$100 bail each and ordered them to report to their nearest police station every Wednesday and also to continue residing at their stated addresses until the case is finalised.
The accused were also ordered not to interfere with police investigations.
The prosecutor, Ms Dorcas Maphosa told the court that the accused were arrested on December 17 after attempting to sell 10 cows and an ox at the CSC depot. The cattle were discovered to lack local brand marks, raising suspicions that they had been stolen from Botswana.
An alert police officer stationed at the abattoir noticed irregularities in the documents presented by the suspects. The documents lacked a crucial stamp from the police station where the cattle were purportedly cleared for transportation. The officer alerted the Anti-Stock Theft Unit leading to the suspects’ arrest.
Following their arrest, CSC’s operations and production co-ordinator, Mr Beit Tonderai Rinashe, praised the abattoir’s robust systems designed to prevent stolen livestock from being sold or slaughtered at the facility.
“We believe the cattle were stolen from Botswana and the suspects tried selling them here. However, CSC has systems in place that scrutinise documents such as movement permits and police clearance certificates,” said Mr Rinashe.
He added that the abattoir works closely with the police to ensure stolen cattle do not make it into their operations.
“An officer from ZRP noticed that the suspects were using a doctored document and we immediately called the Anti-Stock Theft Unit. After thorough checks, the unit confirmed the cattle were stolen and the suspects were arrested,” said Mr Rinashe.
