It began with goats. It ended at Chicken Inn.
Yesterday, in a sting operation that felt more like a scene from a low-budget crime thriller than a livestock dispute, rapper Maskiri was arrested in Chitungwiza — not for lyrics, but for livestock. The charge? Allegedly swindling US$1,500 from a US-based Zimbabwean, Tonderai Chisoro, in a goat deal gone ghost.
For months, Maskiri had been rebranding his hustle — trading bars for Boer Kalahari Reds, flaunting imported breeds on social media like trophies of rural entrepreneurship. But behind the curated posts, Chisoro claims he was left with nothing but silence and shifting excuses.
“I sent the money through Mukuru in three transactions,” Chisoro told H-Metro. “Then the goalposts started moving. One day he was ‘deep in the rural areas’, the next he wasn’t picking up calls. Eventually, he just went quiet.”
With no goats delivered and no communication, Chisoro activated his Zimbabwean relatives. A report was filed at Chitungwiza Police Station (CR559/11/25). That’s when the hunt began.
Enter Dulani and Mushaninga.
Two officers. One plan. They posed as party planners, dangling a fake birthday gig to lure the rapper out of hiding. Maskiri took the bait — US$300 for a performance, with a promise to bring fellow artist Tererai Mugwadi.
Yesterday afternoon, the trap was sprung. The officers called again, claiming they’d scraped together a US$200 deposit. They invited him to Chicken Inn, Unit C junction.
Cue the takedown.
Maskiri arrived, expecting applause. Instead, he was pounced on by plainclothes officers. Witnesses watched in disbelief as the rapper was whisked away mid-junction. Even the InDrive driver joined the chase — not for justice, but for his fare.
Police say investigations are ongoing. Chisoro’s US$1,500 remains unrecovered. And somewhere in the digital dust of Maskiri’s goat posts, a cautionary tale now grazes.
