Cattle thieves stole 42 head of cattle from Mr Jabulani Nkomo, son of the late Vice President John Landa Nkomo, with police suspecting that two former farm workers were part of a theft syndicate.
The animals were stolen from Mr Nkomo’s farm in Umjoza district, and police have since launched a manhunt for the herders, Tatenda Chimumbi and Blessed Nyganje.
The matter was reported at Insuza Police Station and is being dealt with by Assistant Inspector Khumalo.
Yesterday, National Police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the incident, saying investigations were ongoing.
The latest development comes almost a month after police intercepted and arrested two men from the Emganwini suburb of Bulawayo on charges of stealing a herd of 19 cattle.
Edmore Bhibe (46) and Farai Bambokani (28) were spotted by an informant driving a truck loaded with livestock along Esigodini Road.
The informant tried to stop them, but they sped towards Bulawayo before they were arrested.
Nkomo said he became suspicious after discovering the bodies of six stolen animals at a slaughterhouse on the outskirts of Bulawayo.
The stolen animals belonged to Mduduzi Malwi and were slaughtered at the slaughterhouse after authorities cleared them from Nsuza on December 21 last year.
This prompted Mr Nkomo to conduct an inventory of his herd which led to the discovery of 42 head of missing cattle.
Nkomo said he suspected Chimombe and Nyganje started stealing animals in August last year and that was the last time they conducted an inventory of livestock. He said Neganji disappeared in early December.
Mr Nkomo later received a report that some unknown trucks had been spotted at his farm at night.
“Despite the normal inventory, I was also affected to conduct another inventory in December after reports of trucks being spotted on my farm at night,” Mr Nkomo said.
“Our inventory in August revealed 119 head of cattle and in his report of 7 December 2023, Chimumbi gave us a figure of 106 cattle, which includes three bulls, 26 heifers, 45 heifers, 24 weanlings and eight heifers.”
Mr Nkomo said the difference did not mean much because some cattle were slaughtered while others were sold.
Mr Nkomo said that after conducting another inventory, this time with the help of his tenant, they obtained 64 head of cattle consisting of three bulls, 22 cows, 22 weanlings, two heifers and 15 heifers. He filed a report with the police.
Livestock theft is rampant across Zimbabwe, with thieves hitting farmers hard in border areas where they work with cross-border gangs to steal livestock.
On average, between 5,000 and 10,000 cases of livestock theft are reported each year in the country according to the Zimbabwe Republic Police Anti-Livestock Theft Unit.
Over the years, the unit has intensified its campaigns, deployments and community initiatives to combat animal theft, which causes huge losses to farmers, and high levels of anxiety in communities that have built up their herds over the years.
Last month, a cattle farmer, Mr Kindness Ndlovu, from Ward 16 in Umjoza District, lost more than 50 head of cattle to cattle rustlers. Announce
