News / National
5 years for stealing 150 goats
03 Sep 2021 at 06:44hrs | Views
A Beitbridge man, Charles Ndou, who is accused of teaming up with fugitive businesswoman Sarah Chauke to steal 150 goats worth $663 000 around the Lutumba and Tshapfutshe areas, has been jailed for five years.
Ndou of Juta village denied the charges when the trial opened before Beitbridge resident magistrate Mr Takudzwa Gwazemba but was convicted on the strength of the State's evidence.
His accomplice, Chauke who runs a bar at Lutumba Business Centrea, is still at large.
Ndou was left with an effective three years and eight months to serve after the magistrate suspended 10 months of the five-year-term on the condition he pays restitution to the two complainants.
A further four months of the sentence were set aside on the condition of good behaviour. Prosecuting, Ms Fezile Mpofu told the court that on July 11, two complainants from the Tshapfutshe area penned off their 150 goats to grazing lands under the Beitbridge East constituency. On the same date at around 5 pm, they proceeded to the grazing area in search of the goats but failed to locate them.
They then made a follow-up on the next morning with the help of other villagers, and in the process, they picked a spoor of the goats and followed it up to Chauke's homestead.
The court further heard that upon arrival at the woman's homestead, they found the goats in her pen. Upon realising she had been cornered, Chauke drove off at high speed in a grey Nissan caravan.
The State said a further search of the homestead by the villagers led to the discovery of Ndou, who was in the process of slaughtering and skinning some of the goats. The villagers then apprehended Ndou and called the police who swiftly attended the scene. Eighty-one goats and nine carcasses all worth $344 450 were recovered from Chauke's homestead.
Chauke is alleged to be the brains behind the theft of goats with her cabal.
After slaughtering the goats, they would smuggle the meat to South Africa where there is a ready market. An average goat is sold for between R500 and R1 000 on the local market and the same attracts anything above R5 000 in South Africa.
Ndou of Juta village denied the charges when the trial opened before Beitbridge resident magistrate Mr Takudzwa Gwazemba but was convicted on the strength of the State's evidence.
His accomplice, Chauke who runs a bar at Lutumba Business Centrea, is still at large.
Ndou was left with an effective three years and eight months to serve after the magistrate suspended 10 months of the five-year-term on the condition he pays restitution to the two complainants.
A further four months of the sentence were set aside on the condition of good behaviour. Prosecuting, Ms Fezile Mpofu told the court that on July 11, two complainants from the Tshapfutshe area penned off their 150 goats to grazing lands under the Beitbridge East constituency. On the same date at around 5 pm, they proceeded to the grazing area in search of the goats but failed to locate them.
They then made a follow-up on the next morning with the help of other villagers, and in the process, they picked a spoor of the goats and followed it up to Chauke's homestead.
The court further heard that upon arrival at the woman's homestead, they found the goats in her pen. Upon realising she had been cornered, Chauke drove off at high speed in a grey Nissan caravan.
The State said a further search of the homestead by the villagers led to the discovery of Ndou, who was in the process of slaughtering and skinning some of the goats. The villagers then apprehended Ndou and called the police who swiftly attended the scene. Eighty-one goats and nine carcasses all worth $344 450 were recovered from Chauke's homestead.
Chauke is alleged to be the brains behind the theft of goats with her cabal.
After slaughtering the goats, they would smuggle the meat to South Africa where there is a ready market. An average goat is sold for between R500 and R1 000 on the local market and the same attracts anything above R5 000 in South Africa.
Source - the herald
