Villagers arrested for apprehending a gang of well known cattle rustlers

Villagers from Dendele Village of Beitbridge are up in arms against the police for arresting a group of young people from their village who assaulted and apprehended a gang of well known cattle rustlers from neighbouring Shanyaugwe Village of Gwanda South.

According to information made available to Bulawayo24 a group of ten young men from the village were recently arrested by police from Zezane Police after they were involved in a fight with a gang of well known cattle rustlers before effecting citizen arrest on them. According to reports from the village, the villagers have made numerous reports to the police about the gang (names supplied) but the police have never reacted raising suspicions in the village that led to the villagers to take the law into their own hands.

Following the arrests of the youth from the village, the villagers claim that their local chief had to pay a R10 000 "bail" for the young men to be released. Villagers claim that they are at the moment involved in an exercise where they are all contributing R100 per homestead to reimburse the chief the money he used to "bail" their "heroes" out.

When the villagers were asked if the young men appeared in court and which court they claimed that the young men were released at the police station after the said "bail" was paid. Contacted for a comment, a police officer at Zezane police station could not confirm nor deny the alleged incident claiming that being a public holiday his bosses were not available to comment and he was not allowed to make any press comments.

The villagers who spoke to Bulawayo24 claim that the police at Shanyaugwe and Zezane police posts are working with the rustlers who steal livestock around the villages and from across the border in Botswana. According to the villagers the cattle are stolen and driven sometimes with an escort of police officers to near by Doddieburn Farm where they are sold to cattle buyers from Gwanda.

The village of Shanyaugwe is well known for cattle rustling and people in the surrounding areas claim that it is the worst in the country in terms of cattle rustling. The Zimbabwe Republic Police in 2011 ended up opening up a police post in the area and setting up neighbourhood watch committees to try and cab the incidents of stock theft but villagers claim it has not helped as the police are suspected to be also involved with the thieves. This is not the first time that villagers in the area have found themselves assaulting cattle rustlers in the area accusing the police of not arresting the known rustlers. Villagers now claim they are on the verge of quitting keeping livestock in the area due to stock thefts.

"I am no longer interested in keep livestock because I had nine cattle and they stole all of them including my goats and it's now difficult for me to start thinking of cattle rearing because I believe it's a sheer waste of time. In fact, I am now contemplating relocating to another area. I am sick and tired of this kind of life," said one MaNdlovu in an interview.

Another villager, Elphaus Dube, echoed Ms Ndlovu's sentiments, saying he lost a herd of 19 cattle.

"I am sick and tired of this kind of life in Shanyaugwe. I have been losing my cattle since 2007 and as I speak I am only left with four beasts after losing 19 of them to cattle rustlers. "

Comment could not be obtained on the phone from the local community leadership about the alleged R10 000 "bail" paid with a headman spoken to asking the reporter to come to the area in person and talk to the local traditional leadership about the issue which they "really want exposed and sorted out."