Bees chase family searching for stolen cows in Bulawayo

In a suspected case of witchcraft, a Bulawayo family were last week followed by a swarm of bees while they went out in search of their stolen seven cows that went missing around June 2023.

The family managed to identify some of their cows along Airport Road in the outskirts of the city center last week Friday.

Speaking to CITE, the victim Nyasha Rugube said, together with his wife, he rushed to the plots outside the city when they received a call from the herd boy who had managed to identify some of the cows.

"We lost seven cows around early June and we have been looking for them. We recently managed to locate them around Airport Road. The herd boy identified the cows while he was on his way from the city centre, so we had to quickly rush there," Rugube said.

"We arrived at the area around Airport Road and managed to identify three of our cows. When we were about to go with the cows, a strong tornado appeared, after that a swarm of bees appeared and we had to run to the car. Some of the bees entered the car but we managed to kill them. We then took our cows and left."

Rugube said the following day, he had to go back hunting for the person who was heading their cows as he had escaped the previous day upon seeing them.

"The following day I went back to look for the guy who had run away the previous day who was actually heading the cows, we located him and called the police," Rugube said.

"The owner of the plot is Triffin. She is the one on the clearance document of these cows, but the cows were sold by his son called Oscar. It's either they are stealing together, or Oscar was using his mother's papers to get leverage of selling the cows."

Rugube said the cows were cleared in one of the police stations in the city centre and police managed to arrest Oscar who was hiding in one of the cottages in the plot.

"When we were about to leave the premises heading to the police station, Oscar said he wanted to say goodbye to his children. The police told him there was no one in the main house, but he was adamant that his children were inside the house," Rugube said.

"One police officer allowed him to go to the house and when we entered the house where Oscar claimed his children were, we saw a swarm of bees on a sofa. The bees didn't sting us, but we just quickly rushed out. When police asked him about the bees, Oscar told them they were his security team."

Rugube said he assumed those same bees they saw in the house, were the same ones that chased them.

"So, we assumed that bees we saw the previous day were the same bees which were on the sofa, he didn't even deny it," said Rugube.

Meanwhile, Rugube said they managed to get a tip-off that some of their cows were along Solusi road.

"We got a tipoff that the other cows were along Solusi road, we identified two cows in one of the abattoirs there. Upon probing further, those people were forthcoming with information and told us who sold them the cows and everything. One of our cows was also slaughtered there but the seller took the meat and everything," said Rugube.

He said one cow is still missing and they will continue their search and approach village heads along Solusi road.

Contacted for a comment, Bulawayo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the arrest of a man for stock theft although he could not release more information about his identity.

"Complainant had lost a herd of seven and three were recovered where a suspect was arrested," said the inspector.

Inspector Ncube said stock thefts cases especially on plots along Nkayi road and Harare Road are being recorded.