27 stolen cattle land cop in trouble

Manhunt for pirate taxi driver after passenger rape

A 21-YEAR-OLD woman from Entumbane suburb in Bulawayo was allegedly raped on her way to church by a pirate taxi driver who had offered her transport into the city centre.

The woman, whose name cannot be revealed for ethical reasons, was on her way to an all-night prayer.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango said the incident occurred last Friday at about 8PM and the suspect is on the run.

“We’re investigating a rape case involving a 21-yearold woman who was raped on her way to church on March 10. The woman boarded a silver pirate taxi and the driver told her that he was going to use a shortcut by driving along Richmond road,” said Insp Simango.

“Along the way, he diverted and drove to a bushy area where he parked his car, locked its doors and forced the woman to have sex with him at knife point without using protection.”

She said the suspect ordered the woman to go on top of him and he raped her once.

“After the sexual assault, he drove towards Mzilikazi suburb where he dumped the woman before disappearing in his vehicle,” Insp Simango said.

She said those who may have information on the suspect must report to the nearest police station.

Insp Simango warned members of the public to desist from boarding pirate taxis saying most of their drivers are linked to crimes being committed in the city.

“We advise members of the public who are going to church to avoid doing so by themselves. They should travel in groups. They should also avoid boarding pirate taxis as most of them are linked to crimes and may be difficult to trace,” she said.

Last year, a 16-year-old pupil at a Bulawayo school fought off a pirate Honda Fit driver who wanted to rape her by stabbing him with a pen before kicking his private parts.

Earlier this year, a woman from Cowdray Park suburb was killed by unknown assailants while she was coming from evening prayers in the same suburb. -@ nqotshili THE National Blood Services of Zimbabwe (NBSZ) has urged adults to donate blood following a trend that has seen them benefiting from 80 percent of the blood donated by school going children.

NBSZ Matabeleland region public relations officer Mr A POLICE officer stationed in Beitbridge has been arrested for allegedly conniving with two people in an attempt to sell 27 cattle stolen from South Africa to the Cold Storage Commission in Bulawayo.

Patrick Gwete (34), a police officer based at Tuli police station in Beitbridge, Onius Ndou (46) and Leonard Mangavha (40) all of Swereki area under Chief Stauze, pleaded not guilty to stocktheft charges when they appeared before Beitbridge resident magistrate, Mr Langton Mukwengi.

They were remanded out of custody to March 20 for continuation of trial.

Beitbridge Area Prosecutor, Mr Johannes Tlou said on August 3 last year at around midnight, Ndou and Mangavha illegally crossed the Limpopo River into South Africa and stole 27 cattle valued at R244, 000 at Kongo Farm.

They then allegedly drove the cattle back into the country on the same day.

Mr Tlou said the pair also bought seven other cattle on August 4 at a cattle auction in Gwanda.

They then allegedly loaded 15 of the stolen cattle and seven others that they had bought into a hired truck and transported them to the CSC abattoir in Bulawayo.

Ndou and Mangavha allegedly used movement of animal permits supported by police stock clearance forms they had acquired at the public cattle auction.

It was not stated what they did with the remaining 12 cattle stolen from South Africa.

The court heard that on August 10 at around 6AM, the stock controller at the CSC abattoir, Mr Timothy Nare, discovered that the number of cattle Ndou and Mangavha had brought was more than those entered on the public auction permits.

He also noted that the cattle had different brand marks from those on the police clearance forms.

Nare then contacted Ndou and also reported the matter at Donnington police station.

The prosecutor said Ndou then went to CSC Bulawayo where he collected the police stock clearance forms.

He then allegedly sought the assistance of Gwete who issued him with another stock clearance form with serial numbers matching the description of the stolen cattle and their brand marks.

Ndou and Mangavha then allegedly contacted one Constable Shoko at Donnington police station seeking assistance to clear the cattle at the CSC abattoir.

Ndou and Mangavha proceeded to Bulawayo where they were arrested by police from Donnington police station upon arrival and they implicated Gwete.

who for many years have been reluctant to donate blood which they need more compared to youths.”

He said the SDA youth programme had also helped the organisation to find regular donors which they had lost contact with.

“We had to turn away some potential donors as we could not keep up with the numbers. In the process of registering them, we discovered some were regular donors whom we lost when they left school,” he said.—@thamamoe.