…… Amid Rising Theft Cases
By Delicious Mathuthu
Gokwe – Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) in the Midlands Province has officially re-launched its Anti-Stock Theft Awareness Campaigns in response to a surge in livestock theft cases in the region.
The re-launch, held at Hovano Secondary School in Gokwe South, saw several Chiefs and traditional leaders from across the province, some members of Parliament, senior police officers, army officials, government departments, villagers and school children converge to witness the event.
Officer Commanding Police in the Midlands Province, Commissioner Patson Nyabadza, speaking as Goluest of Honour at the re-launch, emphasised the importance of safeguarding livestock possessions which contribute significantly to economic growth, and a symbol of wealth in traditional African society.
“… livestock possessions are very important at individual, family, societal and national levels, in that, it enhances economic growth.
“Ownership of cattle in traditional African society is regarded as a symbol of wealth. Men use stock as draught power, nutrition, and also to pay dowry to in-laws,” he said
“Agriculture, where rearing of livestock falls under, is aptly enunciated under the Zimbabwe national economic blueprint crafted by the Government, National Development Strategy 1, as one of the four main key economic drivers.
“In this regard, there is need to pay particular attention to safeguarding all kinds of livestock from criminals,” Commissioner Nyabadza said.
Statistically, from January to August 2024, 804 stock theft cases were recorded in Midlands Province, representing a 19% increase from the 675 cases reported during the same period in 2023, Commissioner Nyabadza said.
Of the number, cattle theft accounted for 371 incidents reported in 2024, up from 340 in 2023.
Gokwe District has been particularly affected, with 252 stock theft cases reported in 2024, resulting in the theft of 143 cattle, the highest reported in the province of the five policing districts.
Deboning of cattle in kraals has become a new concerning trend, wrecking havoc among farmers.
“The re-launch is being made in the backdrop of a seemingly upsurge of the crime of stock theft nationally.
“Social media bears testimony to this assertion, cases in point being the theft of 21 cattle from a kraal at Bhachi Farm in Banket, where nine of them were killed and deboned in a bush,” Commissioner Nyabadza said.
“Another case is where a whole head of six cattle was alleged to have been killed and again deboned in their kraal in Chivhu. Similar scenarios happened in our own Midlands Province.
“In Lalapanzi, six cattle were slaughtered in a kraal at Gondo plot number 19 on 21 January 2023… Plot 7, Browns Farm, Somabhula suffered the same fate when four cattle were deboned in the kraal.
“The cases trended on social media with heart-rending pictures of carcasses. This re-launch, indeed, cannot come at a better time, given what is happening across provinces,” he said.
To combat the stock theft menace, the ZRP says it has established various inclusive community policing initiatives encouraging participation from farmers, stakeholders, and the general public in monitoring, reporting and providing information on suspicious activities and suspected thieves.
The ZRP has also established Anti-Stock Theft Liaison Committees at provincial, district and station levels, as well as village anti-stock-theft committees.
Several prevention strategies to reduce stock theft have been launched, which include conducting early morning and night-time roadblocks, re-designing stock cards to match stock descriptions, and continuously reminding farmers of the importance of penning stock at night.
Farmers, Commissioner Nyabadza said, are also urged to quickly report any missing or stolen stock to the police.
He said the use of technology such as tracking devices, personalized ear tags and branding stock using personal, area, and dip tank brands are also encouraged.
Obtaining police clearance at cattle pens with neighbor witnesses, can also help prevent theft, he said.
Commissioner Nyabadza also highlighted some of the successes in combating stock theft such as the arrest and conviction of Tinodakufa Hove for stealing 32 cattle and received a 54-year prison sentence.
One Courage Mabheka, Nkosiyabo Gumbo, Clive Ncube, and others who were also arrested, convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for stock theft-related crimes, he said.
Officer Nyabadza urged farmers, stakeholders, and the public to collaborate with the police to combat stock theft.
Part of the invited guests and giving a vote of thanks, Chief Njelele added that each village should take stock of their cattle and noted that the army has pledged to assist in areas where stock theft is prevalent and said to be no go areas, where thugs go unchecked.
Gokwe Central Member of Parliament, Honourable Masvisvi, in a solidarity message, highlighted that their concerns go beyond stock theft to include murder, rape and early marriages cases.
He expressed hope that the signing of the new age of majority law by President Mnangagwa will reduce these incidents.
Hundreds of villagers, school children and police officers who attended the event were treated to entertainment by the police band from Harare, poem and play from High Voltage Poets, poems from Havano Secondary School pupils, marimba band from a local primary school and dance moves from energetic police officers and elderly women and men from the community, capped by one ‘Amai Obey’ who won a grocery hamper after becoming a darling of the crowd with her dance moves with the police band dancers.
