The Sunday News
Peter Matika, Senior Reporter
TWELVE rowdy villagers have appeared in court facing charges of damaging property worth about $12 000 belonging to the village head and other villagers.
The 12 are facing charges of malicious damage to property as defined in section 140 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act) chapter 9:23 and are facing up to 20 counts.
The group initially appeared in court on 31 October and has been remanded out of custody on its own cognisance.
They are due to return to the court on 9 January 2018, for their next hearing.
According to the State the 12, all from Insangu Village 5, under Chief Jahana accused the village head, Mr Ernest Nxumalo of illegally allocating land to people from Bulawayo. In their argument they told the court that the village head’s decision to allocate people land in the area had resulted in the depletion of their livestock’s grazing lands.
For the State, Miss Tafadzwa Mutsambiwa told the court that the 12, namely Shame Mathe, Holiday Ndlovu, Edith Gumbo, Eva Ndlovu, Sifile Mathe, Nqobile Dlodlo, Esnath Ncube, Kinana Dlodlo, Monica Mpofu, Abel Khumalo, Jennifer Dlamini and Thandiwe Ndlovu, armed themselves with rocks and knobkerries, before storming Mr Nxumalo’s homestead where they destroyed property worth $11 997,30.
On arrival at his homestead the group requested his audience, before a misunderstanding ensued.
The misunderstanding later degenerated into a medley of attacks with an assortment of weapons that resulted in the destruction of property, while Mr Nxumalo sought cover.
For the first count the group is being charged for destroying the village head’s homestead and property valued at $2 171.
For the remaining 19 counts, the 12 are being charged for destroying property belonging to 19 other people that had left their property with Mr Nxumalo for safe keeping.
The collective value of the destroyed goods that were being kept by Mr Nxumalo adds up to $9 826,30. —@peterkmatika
