A Mazowe villager was ordered to pay 12 cattle in crop compensation for allegedly destroying a neighbor’s maize crop. But Christopher Chisango refused to take the hit and took his case to the High Court.

The drama began when Kuhlengisa Machona accused Chisango’s cattle of munching on his maize, demanding $4,400 in compensation. Chisango admitted liability, but things got messy when he realized the damages weren’t scientifically assessed and the payment was in US dollars, which was like trying to pay rent in Monopoly money.

The High Court finally put an end to the madness, ruling that the traditional court got it all wrong. Justice Amy Tsanga said, “Nope, you can’t just eyeball the damage and demand cattle as payment.” The court also noted that Machona’s witness, a field inspector, wasn’t exactly an expert in crop loss quantification.

In the end, Chisango was off the hook, and Machona’s review application was dismissed with costs. Guess you could say Chisango’s cattle were off the hook, too – literally!

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