Top Zanu PF official stole 80 cattle

Staff Reporter

MUTARE – Zanu PF top official Enock Porisingazi was left quaking in his boots after being fingered in the rustling of 80 cattle belonging to farmer David Jourbert.

The evidence by the farmer, nailing the towering ex-Chipinge South legislator, added an intriguing twist to Dorothy Mabika’s stock theft trial relating to six dead calves and exposed police’s ineptitude in dealing with perceived party chefs.

Porusingazi, a wealthy Zanu PF central committee member is a bootlicker of Presidential Affairs Minister Didymus Mutasa, and one of the active protagonists in the Mujuru faction.

He has come out guns blazing against Mabika and ex-Zanu PF Manicaland chair Mike Madiro, who are proxies of the Mnangagwa faction that also includes Women’s League boss Oppah Muchinguri and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, battling over the administration of the restive Manicaland region.

The theft accusations against Porusingazi and claims by Mabika that Mutasa cooked up the stocktheft charges to fix her for spurning his sexual advances has left the Mujuru faction with irritating egg splashes in the face and doused their imaginations of victory.

Several women throughout the province believe Mabika’s allegations true after their own experiences with the fifth most powerful official in Zanu PF.

Mutasa left the court with a perforated face in the light of Mabika’s portrayal of him as an “aspiring VP with a lose zip”.

Jourbert told Mutare magistrate Ms Sekesai Chiundura that during cross examination by Mabika’s lawyer Tinofara Hove of TK Hove and Associates that he was shocked over the manner police rushed to probe the case of the six dead dairy bull calves yet for the past years they never bothered to investigate the case in which Porusingazi and his Ernest pillaged 80 high-value cattle some years ago.

Mabika (47) and Madiro (49) face a joint charge of stealing 10 beasts donated for President Robert Mugabe’s birthday celebrations.

Mabika, who is on $150 bail, faces another charge of obstruction of justice in that she allegedly tampered with provincial party minutes as a way of concealing the theft of the six calves.

Mabika denies all charges as trumped up.

“Your worship, there is a man called Enock Porusingazi, who for all these years has been walking scot-free yet together with his son, Ernest, have stolen 80 cattle from my father’s farm (Chipinge). I have made several reports to police, follow ups, but police have been reluctant to act.

“This is despite the fact that we have furnished them with all the necessary overwhelming evidence that Porusingazi has stolen our cattle,” said Jourbert, drawing laughter and jeers from the packed gallery.

“Porusingazi has not been investigated or arrested after numerous attempts. This is my second time to be brought to this court to testify over a case that involves six small, little dairy bull calves that could die a day or two if not properly fed and managed.

“I am shocked that the police could act with unprecedented swiftness to investigate a case of these six small, little dairy bull calves, yet the case involving our 80 cattle has died.

“There is evidence that Porusingazi and his son Ernest have stolen and why have the police not acted, investigated and arrested him?” said Jourbert before leaving the witness stand.

Though Jourbert was advised about the death of the six calves prior to investigations, he did not dispute Mabika’s claims that they died due to lack of supplementary feeding. He said the calves were barely a month old and had to be fed and properly managed or they would die in a day or two.

Earlier on Mabika had claimed that Mutasa had trumped up the stocktheft charges to fix her for spurning his sexual advances.

Mabika’s lawyer: “This is a case of political struggle and the accused is being used as a pawn of power struggle in Manicaland. You made an inappropriate sexual demand against her. You are persecuting her because she refused your sexual advances and also refused to join your camp.”

But Mutasa, who occasionally burst into laughter during the trial, denied the charge.

“It is within your imagination. I never made any proposal or any sexual advances and if she was thinking about that, then it is her own problem. If she loves me, then let her be open,” Mutasa said.

Mabika said Mutasa targeted her to tarnish her image and block her from contesting in the forthcoming harmonised elections.

“There are power struggles yes and she must have known that if elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. She risks being caught up in the crossfire. She must be alert and stay a distant away from the fighting elephant bulls,” said Mutasa.