Ntingwe Villagers, A Manace in Zhombe

By Prisca Manyiwa

Silobela villagers in Ntingwe under Chief Ruya and Chief Gobo have no kind words for their neighbouring villagers who are reportedly bulling them by stealing their livestock and victimising them in broad day light.

Speaking during an interface with the Zimbabwe Republic Police in the Midlands district, Ruya village on Monday, the villagers expressed their fears and bemoaned the loss of their cattle and goats to the ‘untouchable’ Ntingwe villagers.

“We are losing our cattle to Ntingwe people but justice is not being saved, it is like the Ntingwe people are untouchable because even if one reports to the police the matter will just die a natural death.

“On August 10 2021 my cattle got stolen and up to date I have not yet found them,” said Zenzo Dube.

“Ntingwe villagers are a very big threat to our community they steal our livestock and if one try to recover the cattle from them they turn against you and beat you thoroughly, they are very violent,” added one Headman Kwashira.

In addition, Chief Gobo (Clever Machona) also grumbled over the rise in stock theft cases in his area which has become a lifetime threat to the villagers as they are losing their livestock without recovering them in most cases.

“Stock theft is one of our biggest problems in this area we are losing our cattle and mostly they are not recovered,” said Chief Gobo.

In response, the Midlands Provincial Spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko advised the villagers to brand their cattle for easy identification and recovery in case they get stolen.

“The best way to protect your livestock is put a personal brand on them so that they can be easily identified and recovered in case they get stolen and you should also work closely with the Police and assist them in their investigation to make their work easier,” said Mahoko.