An 80-year-old Beit Bridge man and his son appeared in court on Friday for allegedly stealing 72 heads of cattle at Dodieburn Ranch outside the border town.

The two were arrested during a recent anti-stock theft operation in the Beit Bridge district.

Daniel Makhalima Moyo and his 14-year-old son, both of Ngoma Village outside Beit Bridge, pleaded not guilty to stock-theft charges when they appeared before a local magistrate, Ms Gwineth Drawo.

The case was postponed to 28 May for trial and Moyo remains in custody, while his son was placed in the custody of a relative. The State opposed bail, arguing that if  he was granted bail, there was no guarantee that Moyo would not abscond, given the gravity of offence. It was also noted that he would interfere with ongoing police investigations.

Clad in khaki prison garb, the frail and old-looking Moyo insisted during cross-examination that he was being framed.

The prosecutor, Mr Jabulani Mberesi, said that on 1 March, Moyo and his son teamed up with Polite Ndlovu, Witness Moyo and Tshengu Moyo, three accused who are still at large. They went to Dodieburn Ranch where they spotted the complainants’ cattle grazing. The court heard that Moyo and his accomplices drove the animals to their homesteads in Ngoma, where they penned them up. Acting on a tip-off, police descended on the accused’s homestead and arrested them, leading to the discovery of some of the stolen cattle.