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Babbington Machingura Midlands Reporter
A Gweru cattle rustler has been jailed 13 years for leading a notorious cattle rustling gang which terrorised villagers in Zhombe since the beginning of the year.

Samson Mativenga (53) together with his 16-year-old son, James Siziba (22), Only Sithole (22) appeared before Midlands provincial magistrate Mrs Phathekile Msipa facing charges of stock theft.

Mativenga was found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison while his accomplishes were each jailed four years.

Prosecuting, Mr Andrew Marimo proved that sometime in February, the four-member gang was routinely hunting down goats and sheep, which belonged to villagers in the pastures in Lower Gweru (Zhombe), slaughtering them and selling the meat to the public. Mativenga was pinned down by police in February during one of their daily patrols.

He was caught red-handed as he tried to bury a heifer’s carcass.

Police later searched the accused’s house and recovered carcasses of slaughtered sheep and goats. He then implicated the other three accomplices.