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Marvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
A GWANDA businessman will serve an effective seven months imprisonment for stealing seven goats which he slaughtered for his butchery.

Joseph Ndlovu, 37, who operates a butchery in Selonga area and his accomplice, Regenot Moyo, 30, were convicted of stocktheft by magistrate Olivia Mashava-Mashaire.

The two had denied the charges arguing that the story had been fabricated against them by their enemies.

Magistrate Mashava-Mashaire, however, found Ndlovu and Moyo guilty and convicted them of stocktheft due to overwhelming evidence against him.

The magistrate sentenced the two to 12 months in prison each, of which five months were suspended for five years on condition they do not commit a similar offence within that period.

Representing the State, Mncedisi Dube told the court that on December 22, last year, one Godlike Ncube, Ndlovu, Moyo and another suspect who is still at large, drove goats belonging to Redus Tlou to a nearby dam.

“Upon reaching the dam, the accused persons rounded the goats and managed to catch seven of them which they loaded in a Nissan van, blue in colour, and drove away with them.

“The matter came to light on December 27, 2014 after the complainant went to his rural home in Nhwali where he met his herdboy Godlike who stated that the goats were stolen by Moyo, Ndlovu and another suspect who is still at large,” Dube told the court.

The case was reported to the police leading to the arrest of Moyo and Ndlovu.

The stolen goats were valued at $700 and nothing was recovered.