'Prodigal son' steals inheritance

EFFORTS by a Hwange man to imitate the biblical character of the prodigal son hit a snag when he came back home after spending his share of his father's inheritance to claim more, after he was arraigned before the courts for stock theft.

Moses Nyoni (24) of Gamba village under Chief Nekatambe in Hwange unlawfully drove 10 heads of cattle which were in the custody of his sister with the intention of selling them when he was intercepted by police before he could finalise the transaction.

Nyoni who appeared before regional magistrate Miss Lindiwe Maphosa pleaded not guilty, arguing that he had a right to the cattle as they were his inheritance.

The court heard that on 17 May 2013 at around 2pm, Nyoni unlawfully drove 10 cattle which were in the lawful custody of his sisters Elizabeth and Vuyani.

He penned them at a local businessman, Sebastian Kwidini's kraal, intending to sell them. His sister got wind of what had happened and that Nyoni was on the verge of selling the cattle to Kwidini without her knowledge and consent.

Elizabeth approached her brother and tried to reason with him but he snubbed her leaving her with no choice but to report the matter to the police, leading to his arrest and recovery of the cattle.

Prosecutor, Mr Tinomupeyi Mbiza further told the court that upon the death of Nyoni's parents, his father's estate was distributed accordingly. Being the first born son in a family of five, he was given a cow after demanding his share of the inheritance after indicating that he wanted to go to South Africa. The other siblings also received a cow each. However, they were left in the custody of the elder sister Elizabeth.

Later that year, Nyoni returned from South Africa and demanded another beast, arguing that he was the eldest son and hence his father's estate belonged to him. When his moves were resisted, he took the matter to the village head where it was resolved that he be given one cow which he quickly sold to Kwidini.

He again left for South Africa only to come back again demanding the two cows that had been given to his siblings. However, after his sister went to the grazing area where he drove the cattle to, Nyoni denied that he was stealing the cattle but instead was taking possession of his rightful inheritance.

Nyoni will spend the next nine years in prison after his sentence and conviction. He was lucky to receive a custodial sentence of nine years, instead of the 10 years per beast that is recommended for stocktheft.