A 61-year-old Beitbridge man, charged with bestiality, left the people in the local magistrate’s court in stitches when he said he decided to be intimate with the donkey as punishment for grazing in his field.

The court exploded into laughter as the accused, Tsakisi Nare of Zezani village, outside Beitbridge, told the local magistrate that he committed the crime while trying to punish the donkey for straying into his field and subsequently destroying his crops.

Nare pleaded guilty to the charge of bestiality and the case was postponed to December 5 for sentencing. He was released and warned to appear again on December 5.

The court was told that on November 12, at around 18:00, Nare spotted some donkeys which had strayed into his field. The court heard that, upon driving the animals out of the field, the Nare allegedly drove away the rest and left one female donkey. He allegedly tied the donkey to a nearby tree and became intimate with it. He was, however, caught in the act by another local villager who was looking for his donkeys.

The man approached Nare, who in turn allegedly tried to bribe him not to report him. However, the villager refused to accept the money and alerted the owner of the donkey, who then reported to the police, leading to Nare’s arrest.

When asked by the magistrate why he had sex with the donkey, Nare responded: “Your Worship, I just wanted to fix it for destroying my crops.”