Cattle rustlers from Zambia are allegedly crossing the border into Zimbabwe and stealing livestock from Binga villagers, taking advantage of the lack of visibility by the police.
This was said by Binga South MP Gabbuza Gabbuza (MDC Alliance) during the National Assembly’s questions with notice session last Wednesday.
Gabbuza wanted to know why there have been no arrests of “cattle rustlers from Zambia, who have been stealing livestock in Saba and Lubanda wards.”
He also demanded that Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe explain the measures “the government has instituted to curb commission of such crimes and recover the stolen livestock that have been identified across the border.”
In response, Kazembe said at the recently held Zambia-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on Security and Defence (JPC) in Livingstone Zambia it was agreed that police services from the two countries would work hand in glove to combat the crime. He said:
As I speak efforts are underway to address the scourge.
On arrests, I would have to find out if there are any known culprits from Zambia that our police officers have failed to arrest after receiving information on stock theft.
It could be an issue of lack of information resulting in no arrests being done.
But as a country, whoever is involved in such acts, whether locals or foreigners, the law will take its course.
Kazembe said his ministry was in the process of giving police officers patrol vehicles and other electronic gadgets like drones to fight crime. He added:
We have started with Matabeleland South where to date we have established police bases in known areas that these livestock rustlers use when crossing into or outside Zimbabwe.
I would also like to engage you the honourable member together with the commissioner general of police to identify strategic places where we can establish police bases to patrol the affected areas of Saba and Lubanda.