Goats pay grisly price in fiery wage dispute

Herdboy burns 14 goats alive after 3 months of no pay

Allegedly fuming at his boss for failing to pay him for three whole months, a Zimbabwean herdboy is said to have taken bloody revenge on his employer’s unfortunate goats.

Reaching boiling point at Dibongwane cattlepost (some 8km out of Tonota) last week Monday, 38-year-old Andrew Sibanda reportedly snapped, rounding up the livestock he was hired to take care off.

After kraaling the startled animals, which numbered 33 goats in total, he reportedly fetched some dry leaves, lit a match and set them on fire.

Sibanda, who is said to be on a P600 monthly wage and owed P1, 800, then turned his fiery vengeance on his employer’s shack, torching the building before handing himself in to the cops.

It is believed he was pushed to the edge by hunger, as well as frustration at being too broke to send money back to his family in Zim.

Taking over the narrative, Tonota Station Commander, Oteng Ngada told The Voice, “Our officers attended the scene quickly where they found 14 goats burnt alive.”

Reluctant to go into too much detail, Ngada said Sibanda was shaking with emotion when he turned up at the station, complaining he was owed three months pay.

The suspect appeared before Francistown Magistrates Court on Thursday where he was charged with arson, injuring animals and entering the country through the ungazetted point of entry.

Inevitably, lacking the necessary travelling documents, Sibanda was remanded in custody.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Ngada revealed Sibanda’s employer has been hit with a charge for hiring an illegal immigrant, a fine that carries a P1, 500 penalty – P300 less than he allegedly owes his irate worker!