A 71-YEAR-OLD woman has been arraigned in court for allegedly poisoning a neighbour’s “menacing” goats.
Busisiwe Hove of Woodville Plots appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Nomasiko Ndlovu at the Tredgold Courts, charged with malicious damage to property.
Prosecutors told the court that two of the goats died while four others suffered internal injuries.
Hove pleaded not guilty to the malicious damage to property charges and was remanded out of custody to Tuesday for trial.
“I did not poison the goats and I deny the charges levelled against me,” said Hove in court.
Prosecutors said there had been a long-standing dispute between Ndlovu and her neighbour Sibusisiwe Phiri over the latter’s goats always straying into the former’s property.
It is said that the goats were in the habit of straying into Hove’s garden, where they would wreak havoc and eat her vegetables, to her displeasure.
The court also heard that after failure to resolve the matter verbally, Hove proceeded to lace some water with poison, which Phiri’s goats drank once they strayed into her yard.
The allegations invited cheer and jeering from the gallery, as some found the case absurd.
The court heard that two goats died while four others fell seriously sick from drinking the water.
Phiri reported the matter to the police, leading to Hove’s arrest.
