Police in Bulawayo have arrested a 20-year-old man after recovering a suspected stolen cattle carcass, seven knives, a machete and an axe during a roadblock operation on the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele identified the suspect as Eric Masuku of Gwabalanda. He was arrested on Tuesday night after police intercepted the Honda Fit he was driving.
Msebele said officers stopped the vehicle at about 10:30pm and asked Masuku to produce his driver’s licence.
“Upon asking for his license, he failed to produce his driver’s license. Two of the passengers in the vehicle got out and ran. That led the police to give chase, and they managed to arrest the accused person, who is Eric Masuku,” she said.
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Police searched the vehicle and recovered a cattle carcass. Msebele said Masuku allegedly failed to produce documentation authorising its transportation, raising suspicions that it had come from stolen livestock.
“Upon asking to produce the clearance of the meat of the carcass nothing was produced that led to the suspicion that the carcass was from a stolen stock,” she said.
According to Msebele, Masuku told investigators that the other suspects had asked him to transport the meat from an area known as Green in the Inyathi area.
Police also recovered seven knives, a machete and an axe, which they suspect were used to slaughter the animal.
“This is a pure loss to a farmer,” Msebele said, describing the impact of stock theft on livestock owners.
She urged communities to remain vigilant and advised farmers not to allow suspicious vehicles, particularly Honda Fit vehicles, into grazing areas.
“We encourage members of the public not to allow these Honda Fit vehicles into their grazing areas. We also encourage communities to establish village anti-stock theft committees that will monitor grazing areas so that offenders do not gain access,” she said.
Msebele appealed to farmers in the Green area of Inyathi who have missing livestock to report to ZRP Queens Park Police Station to identify the recovered carcass and assist with investigations.
The two passengers who fled the scene remain at large, and investigations are continuing.
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