In the village of Sagashili, Mugalzhar district, Aktobe region, the appellate court acquitted Rakhat Sarsenov, who herded horses for 33 years but was accused of theft. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.

7 years of litigation

Horse herder Rakhat Sarsenov was falsely accused 7 years ago. For seven years he tried to prove his innocence, and finally the court considered his case.

"He should have been paid monthly, but the businessman sometimes paid, sometimes not. The first verdict was issued on May 15 this year, my father was sentenced to 7.5 years. He was taken into custody right from his wheelchair and spent two months in detention," says Aibek Sarsenov, son of the slandered herder.

Herder's house mortgaged to bank

Over 7 years, the number of allegedly lost horses reached 100. Trusting the owner, Rakhat Sarsenov built a house on the pasture. The livestock owner mortgaged it to the bank.

"In 2019, he mortgaged that house to the bank. Then he tricked my father into giving the house as collateral, saying it was needed for the investigation. My father allegedly caused 10 million tenge in damages, and this was to cover it. He promised to remove the lien after the trial, but deceived us," says Aibek Sarsenov.

With no choice, Rakhat Sarsenov agreed to herd horses for another 10 years to pay off the debt.

Herder suffered a stroke

"My father didn't last 10 years; after 7 years he had a stroke. While he was in the hospital, the livestock owner sued him, claiming he hadn't compensated the 10 million. We received a summons. In 2019 they said 60 horses were lost, this year they added 40 more, now they claim 100 horses are missing," says the herder's son.

The family does not know whether 100 horses really disappeared or if it is a false accusation. "Perhaps over several years there was some loss, because in blizzards and rains livestock is lost, but we don't know for sure," says Rakhat Sarsenov's son.

"Father signed out of fear"

"The horse owner intimidated my father with house documents and forced him to sign a debt receipt. My father was afraid of losing the house and signed. We didn't know about it; he signed while in the pasture. The court said, 'Here, he admitted it himself, here's the paper.' But my father signed fearing his children would be left homeless," says his son Aibek Sarsenov.

The children of the 69-year-old wealthy businessman have been helping herd livestock since childhood.

"Just return our house"

Since 1994, businessman Tazhigali Eleuov and Rakhat Sarsenov started livestock farming from scratch. Later, Eleuov became wealthy, and Sarsenov became his herder. 33 years have passed since then.

"They started from zero. We don't need any apology, moral compensation, or anything else, just return our house," says the son of the old man whose case was heard in court.

Sputnik Kazakhstan requested information about the verdict from the Aktobe Regional Court. The court promised to provide official information.