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Richard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
A GWANDA cattle rustling ringleader whose homestead was burnt by an angry mob has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Lovemore Moyo (48) had his homestead destroyed by villagers irked by his penchant for stealing livestock in Insindi resettlement area.

He pleaded not guilty to stealing 11 beasts but provincial magistrate Mr Willard Mafios Moyo convicted him.

The magistrate suspended three years of his sentence for five years on condition of good behaviour.

He suspended another three years on condition Moyo restitutes seven beasts to the complainant.

In his defence, Moyo said he did not steal the cattle.

“I did not steal the cattle. I bought them with my herd boy who however went back to his home area in Binga. I can’t call him to be my witness as I don’t know his whereabouts,” he said.

Moyo claimed he had no documents to prove purchase because everything was burnt when a mob destroyed his homestead last year.

Convicting him, the magistrate said if Moyo was innocent as he claimed, his relatives were not going to plead with the complainant to drop charges.

“Your relatives would not have offered to pay a herd of seven cattle to the complainant. This can only serve to confirm the behaviour of a guilty person,” said Mr Moyo.

The court heard that sometime in April last year, Moyo stole 11 beasts which belonged to Naison Moyo of Gungwe area and took them to his homestead in Insindi resettlement area.

He rebranded them with his own personalised mark.

Moyo skipped the border to South Africa after the complainant made a report to the police, who recovered the beasts at his homestead.

He was arrested on return in December after police received a tip off that he was hiding at his sister’s house in Gwanda town

@richardmuponde