Yesterday (01 June 2016) over 200 Matshetsheni villagers under Chief Mzimuni in Gwanda District assembled at Insindi resettlement area and burnt 3 homesteads of people accused of being cattle rustlers. The villagers burnt the homes in broad day light.
According to villagers to spoke to this institute on condition of anonymity, since these resettled people got settled at Insindi Ranch, the villagers who survive on cattle ranching have not known peace as their cattle are stolen everyday.
What infuriated the villagers to the point of burning homesteads is that “these people were no-longer hiding their evil activities and efforts to get them arrested has not brought any fruits as they get released overnight over small bailouts of usd100” narratted one of the village leaders.
MIHR has also established that the villagers caught one of the rustlers in the days past and they found him with phone numbers of all prominent law enforcement officers of the district and the province which made them believe he is working with these people.
Some villagers also told of how they have lost all their livestock to this syndicate.
The villagers have vowed what they did was an act of protecting their own economic rights and livelihood from thieves and looters.
Meanwhile it is reported by the villagers police have been swooping over Gwanda Ward 1 community looking for the ring leaders of this act and they have allegedly arrested most of the village heads in the community.
MATABELELAND INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 
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