Crimes and Courts
BULAWAYO – The High Court has dismissed an application by a Umguza farmer, Patrick Dube, who was seeking to avoid trial over the alleged theft of 65 trust cattle, ruling that the State presented sufficient evidence to warrant a defence.
Justice Kabasa, sitting in Bulawayo, threw out Dube’s bid to overturn a lower court’s decision that had found a prima facie case against him. Dube is accused of failing to account for 64 head of cattle entrusted to him between November 2017 and December 2018 at Richardson Farm in Umguza.
In his application, Dube had argued that no evidence linked him to the theft, but the High Court found otherwise. Justice Kabasa emphasized that the cattle were left in Dube’s custody, a fact not in dispute.
“The issue is whether he accounted for them when the complainant called on him to do so,” the judge stated.
The court noted compelling testimony from prison officers who testified that they had purchased cattle from Dube, some of which bore ear tags matching those described by the complainant. Additionally, investigators recovered 10 cattle directly linked to the missing herd.
“The failure to record cattle sold, the cattle with ear tags sold to the prison officer, and the concealment of Form 397 amounts to evidence requiring a reply,” Justice Kabasa ruled.
Dube’s lawyer had contended that forcing his client to enter his defence was tantamount to “asking him to bolster the State’s case,” arguing that he could not be accused of stealing “non-existent property.” However, the judge clarified the legal threshold at this stage of proceedings.
“At this stage, the issue is not whether the State has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The simple question is whether there is evidence against the accused which requires a reply. There is,” Kabasa affirmed.
The High Court upheld the magistrate’s decision, stating that it was neither irrational nor outrageous. Dube will now be required to answer the allegations when he returns to the magistrates’ court for his defence .
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