Beitbridge serial cattle thief gets further 21 years

By Ellen Mlambo | Masvingo Mirror |

Beitbridge serial cattle thief Mashudu Sibanda who is serving a nine-year jail sentence for cattle rustling added another 21 years on Friday when Magistrate Takudzwa Gwazemba convicted him on two fresh counts of stock theft.

Sibanda would steal cattle from areas around Chitulipasi in Beitbridge and take them to Gezani in Chiredzi and Mwenezi where he would keep them with friends while looking for buyers.

Sibanda who would rebrand the stolen cattle pleaded guilty to the two counts and was acquitted on the third. The State said he stole 11 cattle on the two counts and seven were recovered. Most of his accomplices are on the run.

Sibanda’s luck ran out when six of the cattle belonging to Mashudu Munyayi were located at Gezani area with accused’s brandmark superimposed on the complainant’s brand mark.

In August 2021 Sibanda was convicted and sentenced to 9 years for another stock theft charge after he stole three cattle at Chitulipasi area again.

Prosecutor Tawanda Chigavazira said in the first count in June 2020, the complainant, Munyayi who resides under Chief Matibe’s area penned off his 17 herd of cattle for grazing. In the afternoon he found four missing.

On January 4, 2021, the complainant identified one of his stolen cattle among the six cattle that were recovered from Gezani area which were all branded with Sibanda’s brand mark FQR. The cow was recovered from Robert Kavi who purchased it from the accused.

In the second count, he allegedly stole from Calvin Moyo (43) of Chishara Village under Chief Matibe.
Some of the stolen cattle were driven to Maxwell Moyana Kavi’s homestead in Mwenezi.