Filabusi Resident Magistrate, Abednico Ndebele, will next month deliver a judgement on a stock theft case involving a Zanu PF councillor and two other accomplices, who allegedly stole eight cattle
Sindiso Ndlovu, Ward 17 Councilor for Insiza North, and two of his accomplices, Buhle Nkomazana and Onias Dube, are charged with three counts of stock theft.
The trio is out of custody, having been released on ZWL$500 000 bail.
The trial has been ongoing since the trio’s arrest in November, with the State presenting evidence from its witnesses.
Magistrate Ndebele is scheduled to deliver his ruling on April 24, 2024, after the accused’s lawyers applied for discharge at the close of the State case.
The accused Ndlovu was represented by Abel Ndlovu of Samp Mlaudzi and Partners, while his accomplices – Nkomazana was represented by Nkosiyenzile Mpofu of Cheda and Cheda Associates and the other Dube was represented by Jabukani Ndubiwa of Mashayamombe and Company Attorneys.
According to the State, the Zanu PF councillor allegedly sold eight stolen cattle to Esigodini Abattoirm, after which the complainants positively identified the hides of their slaughtered cattle.
It is also the State’s case that the councillor was selling cattle he claimed to be his but was not recording the information on his stock card to allow tracking of his livestock.
During cross examination of the Investigating Officer, Sergeant Sibanda, who is a State witness, the councillor’s lawyer argued that police did not follow the proper procedures while arresting his client.
He alleged the police did not use the stipulated government resources to conduct their investigations in accordance with the law and also denied the authenticity of the councillor’s warned and cautioned statement.
The lawyer said the warned and cautioned statement that was submitted to the court is not the one written by his client.
“Your Worship, the police did not follow proper procedures while conducting investigations. There are some details that were not filled in the indication form. They did not use a police vehicle to go and retrieve the hides of the alleged stolen cattle from Esigodini Abattoir,” said the councillor’s lawyer.
“The police also went to the abattoir to check for the hides of the alleged stolen cattle. When they got there they were shown the hides that they were looking for, separated them from the rest of the hides and then brought the accused persons to confirm if they were the hides of the cattle they had sold. The way they conducted the procedure is not that of identification but of affirming what they found.
“Also, Your Worship, my client (Cllr Ndlovu) denies being the owner of the warned and cautioned statement that is before this court. The signature on the document is not his. He signed his warned and cautioned statement before myself and my colleague and that is not the document that is before this court today.”
Ndlovu further argued that the State cannot accuse his client for not updating his stock card because the law does not obligate him to do so.
The investigating officer explained to the court that despite the validity of some of the points raised by the lawyer, the government is strained of resources so sometimes the police find alternative means of getting the job done.
“Your Worship, I understand what the counsel is saying. But the police cannot stop carrying out its duties to obtain justice because of lack of resources. We use other means. On the day in question when we were supposed to go to Esigodini Abattoir our police vehicle had broken down so we used a different vehicle to go there,” said Sergeant Sibanda.
“Councillor Ndlovu must also have updated his stock card for transparency purposes. His stock would not be cleared by one or two police officers who are able to keep track of his herd, but different officers do that job. It is therefore difficult for them to keep track of how many cattle have been sold, how many were acquired or how many were sold. His stock card has 45 beasts and none were recorded sold after the alleged sale.”
Ndubiwa argued on behalf of Dube, who works at Esigodini abattoir and is accused of receiving the alleged stolen cattle livestock, that his client has been wrongly prosecuted.
“My client was shown the clearance form and all the other necessary documents, if anything, he is in the same boat with the police officer who cleared the cattle and the driver who drove the cattle to the abattoir,” Ndubiwa said.
“He got no financial gain from this alleged crime. The money that was paid for the slaughter was given to the abattoir. He was also on duty with two other colleagues, who both worked with him on the slaughtering job. I don’t understand why he was singled out by the police over this alleged offence.”
At the conclusion of the State case, the lawyers of the trio stated they intended to seek discharge for their clients.
They said they would file their submissions with the State, led by Naledi Muleya and Thembelihle Ncube, by April 2, 2024.
The State announced that it would answer by April 12, 2024.
