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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 21714, member: 2262"] A 37-year-old police officer from Zvishavane has been accused of playing a major role in cattle rustling activities in the Fort Rixon area. The officer, Kudakwashe Chigwa, is facing charges of stock theft and criminal abuse of office. He has been further remanded in custody until December 3. The court records show that on October 13 this year, the police received a tip-off about a villager named Ishmael Sibanda slaughtering cattle at his homestead in Mvurachena Village, Lambamai, Fort Rixon, without getting police clearance first. The police went to the villager's homestead and asked for a stock clearance receipt, which he showed them. It is alleged that on the day in question, Chigwa worked together with Sibanda and another suspect, Justin Zijena, to steal four cattle belonging to Oliver Chiropa and then slaughter them. The document states that Chiropa positively identified four hides and two heads of cattle cleared by Chigwa and slaughtered by Sibanda as his own. Chigwa was arrested after it was discovered that he did not follow the proper cattle-clearing procedure. He was asked to show permits proving that he had been given the task of clearing cattle in Fort Rixon, which is not within his jurisdiction, and while he was not in uniform. He could not provide any permits. The police recovered a ZRP Zvishavane 392 Book 75/24 with the page where Chigwa had cleared cattle and serial number 4261642. When the book was inspected, it was found that Chigwa had allegedly removed the top copies of the book. When asked why he had removed the top copies on the serial numbers and left the duplicate copies incomplete, he could not give a satisfactory answer, which led to his arrest. Chigwa's arrest comes after a gang of nine men recently appeared in court accused of running a cattle rustling operation in Fort Rixon. The gang is alleged to have stolen and skinned 28 cattle from a local farmer in August. The police caught the suspects on October 13 and found five skinned carcasses, two heads of cattle that were identified by Chiropa, and 26 hides in their possession. The rise in cattle theft has led the authorities to implement various strategies, such as forming community-based anti-rustling monitoring groups. Rustlers often target rural areas on the outskirts of major cities like Bulawayo, where they can easily find a market for the stolen meat. In another recent incident, the police arrested a suspect named Bhekilizwe Nyathi, who is believed to be part of a gang that stole and slaughtered five cattle in the same area and tried to smuggle the carcasses to a butchery in Bulawayo's Magwegwe suburb. In a separate case, a 71-year-old woman from Ntabazinduna in Umguza District, Matabeleland North Province, named Sithabile Ngwenya, also appeared in court for allegedly stealing a herd of 20 cattle worth over US$16,000 in three separate incidents. [/QUOTE]

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