Several villagers in the cattle-rich Jambezi area in Hwange district told The Zimbabwean at the weekend that they were being left at the mercy of the Zambians, who attack them at least five teams every month, leaving with several heads of cattle.
“They use various methods of stealing our cattle, from stealing them from their grazing lands, to robbing our helpless herdboys using guns,” said Chief Shana, a local traditional leader.
“We do not have very fertile land on which to plough and we rely on our cattle for a decent living, but the Zambians are making life difficult for us,” he said.
The villagers have reported their predicament to the police, who seem to have also failed to find a lasting solution, despite a recent heavy deployment of police officers along the border.
Investigations by The Zimbabwean revealed that police from the two countries have held a string of operations dubbed “Operation Clean-up border”, which saw cattle being recovered from the Zambians. – Bayethe Zitha
Post published in: News