Imagine stealing from a place where you are likely to end up someday – and then actually doing time there.
That is exactly what is happening to three daredevil thieves who brazenly stole a cattle beast from a prison farm in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province.
Chrispen Matondo (40), Tanaka Murerekwa (24), and Enock Mpofu (32) have been sentenced to 27 years in prison by a Gweru magistrate, and will likely serve their time at the very same Hwahwa Prison farm from which they stole.
The trio’s audacious crime took place sometime in January this year, under the cover of darkness.
They hired a motor vehicle from Zvishavane and travelled along the Gweru-Mvuma road, targeting cattle at the Hwahwa Prison farm.
The thieves slaughtered one beast and used the hired vehicle to transport the carcass to a market in the Mkoba high-density suburb, Gweru, where their activities were detected, leading to their arrest.
Magistrate Arnold Mabhunu handed down the sentence on July 31, 2025 with prosecutor Taurai Mauto presenting the case.
Each of the three convicts was sentenced to nine years effective imprisonment, totaling 27 years.
As they trade in their freedom for a life behind bars, the trio will have ample time to reflect on their actions and the consequences of their crimes.
, Tanaka Murerekwa (24), and Enock Mpofu (32) have been sentenced to 27 years in prison by a Gweru magistrate, and will likely serve their time at the very same Hwahwa Prison farm from which they stole.){kind=link}