A 34-YEAR-OLD man from Marupi Tibell village in Selonga, Gwanda, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted on a charge of stocktheft.
His three accomplices are still at large.
Darlington Siziba (34) was found guilty on two counts of stocktheft when he appeared before Gwanda magistrate Progress Murandu, who slapped him with the mandatory nine-year imprisonment.
The court was told that on April 14 this year, police received a tip-off that a stocktheft was in progress at Clara Mdlongwa’s plot at Cleveland Farm in Colleen Bawn.
Acting on the information, the police went to the scene and on arrival, they found four suspects slaughtering a beast.
Police positively identified three of the suspects, including Siziba, Kelvin Sebata and Williams Nyathi.
Sebata and Nyathi are still at large.
Nyathi is employed as a herdboy at Mdlongwa’s plot, while Siziba and Sebata were known to be his regularly visitors.
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As the police approached, the four suspects fled the scene.
A carcass was recovered and taken to the police station in Colleen Bawn.
A brand mark with the code D4E2K2 was found on the hide and the beast was identified as belonging to the complainant, John Moyo.
Later that day, information was received that the suspects, including Nyathi, were at Mopane business centre in Gwanda, seeking transport to return to their villages in Guyu.
Police officers went to the place arrested Siziba. Nyathi, however, escaped.
