BY Richard Muponde
A 62-YEAR-OLD Chipinge granny allegedly stole 12 head of cattle belonging to another villager and kept them for a month at her homestead.
This came to light at the initial appearance before Chipinge provincial magistrate, Poterai Gwezhira of Eunice Dziyani of Chichichi village under Chief Mutema.
She pleaded not guilty to stocktheft and was remanded to February 15 for trial.
Dziyani is out of custody on $500 bail. She is being represented by lawyer, Tariro Tazvitya.
The accused denied stealing the cattle, claiming they belonged to her and had lost them in 2009.
“They are my cattle. I didn’t steal the complainant’s cattle. They belong to me. I lost them in 2009 when they were still seven and recovered them in 2017 in the grazing area,” she said.
Prosecutor Gift Bikita told the court that on an unknown date, but in July 2017, the complainant Silas Matangi from Samutsa village released his 12 cattle to a grazing land in the woods of Highlands Wattle Company and left them unattended.
After some days, he went to collect them, but found them missing.
He searched for them in nearby villages, but could not find them and did not report the matter to the police since he suspected that they had strayed.
A month later, he saw them at Matute Business Centre and he sent his employee to collect them.
When his employee was driving off the cattle, he was confronted by Dziyani’s children who asked him where he was taking the cattle.
He advised them that they belonged to his employer.
Dziyani’s children went and advised their mother about the issue and she in turn approached her church pastor about the issue.
He allegedly advised her to solve the matter without involving the police.
However, she went and confronted Matangi demanding the cattle, arguing that they belonged to her and had lost them in 2009.
Matangi then reported the matter to the police, leading to Dziyani’s arrest.
