News / Regional
Man loses lip to donkey thief
11 Dec 2013 at 03:33hrs | Views
A SOMABULA man is receiving treatment at the Gweru Provincial Hospital after the greater chunk of his lower lip was bitten off by a suspected thief he was trying to effect a citizen's arrest on for allegedly stealing his donkeys and a scotch cart.
The badly injured Morekey Mpofu from Cinderella Farm, Somabula, chased the suspect, Reward Sibanda, 19, after he traced him and found him in a bushy area with the stolen donkeys and the scotch cart.
Sibanda is also receiving treatment on the next hospital bed to that of Mpofu at Gweru Provincial Hospital after he was attacked with an axe by Mpofu in self defence.
When news crew went to the hospital on Monday, the two were still nursing their wounds with Sibanda receiving treatment under police guard.
In an interview, Mpofu said he wanted to effect a citizen's arrest on Sibanda after he found him with his stolen donkey drawn cart near Dorset area.
Mpofu said he had to follow the tracks of his scotch cart after Sibanda stole the cart and the donkeys from his homestead while he was away.
"I was away and when I returned home I found that my donkeys and the scotch cart were missing. I quickly traced the spoor and later found Sibanda leading my donkeys as they pulled the cart towards Dorset.
"I tried to stop him but he abandoned the donkey drawn cart and took to his heels," he said.
Mpofu said when he tried to effect a citizen's arrest on Sibanda after catching up with him, Sibanda turned violent and sank his teeth into his lower lip.
"Sibanda was so violent and sank his teeth into my lower lip as I was wresting away an axe which he was armed with. I managed to disarm him and used the back of his axe to strike him on the head," said Mpofu.
He said he later raised alarm and was helped by some villagers to arrest Sibanda.
Police said Sibanda, who is facing two counts of theft and that of assault, would appear in court from his hospital bed today.
The badly injured Morekey Mpofu from Cinderella Farm, Somabula, chased the suspect, Reward Sibanda, 19, after he traced him and found him in a bushy area with the stolen donkeys and the scotch cart.
Sibanda is also receiving treatment on the next hospital bed to that of Mpofu at Gweru Provincial Hospital after he was attacked with an axe by Mpofu in self defence.
When news crew went to the hospital on Monday, the two were still nursing their wounds with Sibanda receiving treatment under police guard.
In an interview, Mpofu said he wanted to effect a citizen's arrest on Sibanda after he found him with his stolen donkey drawn cart near Dorset area.
Mpofu said he had to follow the tracks of his scotch cart after Sibanda stole the cart and the donkeys from his homestead while he was away.
"I was away and when I returned home I found that my donkeys and the scotch cart were missing. I quickly traced the spoor and later found Sibanda leading my donkeys as they pulled the cart towards Dorset.
"I tried to stop him but he abandoned the donkey drawn cart and took to his heels," he said.
Mpofu said when he tried to effect a citizen's arrest on Sibanda after catching up with him, Sibanda turned violent and sank his teeth into his lower lip.
"Sibanda was so violent and sank his teeth into my lower lip as I was wresting away an axe which he was armed with. I managed to disarm him and used the back of his axe to strike him on the head," said Mpofu.
He said he later raised alarm and was helped by some villagers to arrest Sibanda.
Police said Sibanda, who is facing two counts of theft and that of assault, would appear in court from his hospital bed today.
Source - chronicle
