Two Rushinga Men Sentenced to Nine Years for Stock Theft
The Mt Darwin Magistrates’ Court has sentenced two men from Rondo Village, Tawanda Sam (37) and Gerald Musanhi (31), to nine years each in prison for stock theft. This decision comes after the duo was found guilty of stealing and slaughtering cattle belonging to Gertrude Kufandirori, a local villager from Pfara Village.
The incident occurred on November 3, 2025, when Kufandirori allowed her two oxen—a black one and a brown one with a broken right horn—to graze unattended. Upon returning later that day to gather her livestock, she was alarmed to find both animals missing.
Days later, on December 4, an informer notified local villager Lancelot Chinhende about suspicious meat hanging in a tree. Chinhende, along with other villagers, tracked down Sam in the vicinity and initially encountered resistance as he denied any wrongdoing. However, he eventually confessed to the theft and revealed that he and Musanhi had indeed stolen and slaughtered the cattle.
Guided by Sam’s confession, the villagers discovered a grisly scene at the slaughter site, uncovering several 90 kg sacks of meat, along with the skin, legs, and head of the stolen cattle. The meat was subsequently seized as evidence.
In a fortunate turn of events, Kufandirori’s husband later discovered the second ox—the brown one—alive near the site where the slaughter took place.
The court underscored the gravity of the crime, noting that the defendants had intentionally taken the cattle to permanently deprive Kufandirori of her livestock.
The sentencing serves as a potent warning against stock theft, which poses a significant threat to rural livelihoods and the national economy.
In the aftermath of the verdict, local authorities expressed their commitment to combating livestock theft, emphasizing that such crimes will be met with the full force of the law.
