Mahalapye records 67 cases of stock theft

FRANCISTOWN: The Mahalapye District Council chairperson, Banthasetse Merementsi has said that the District has recorded 67 cases of stock theft in the last quarter of the year.

Merementsi said at a recent council session that cattle and goats were the most targeted stock. He said stock theft was a result of farmers abandoning their livestock that end up stolen. The council chairperson stated that cattle posts around Mahalapye and Machaneng were the hardest hit by stock theft.

“Farmers, especially in the Machaneng area, leave their small stock in the lands and spend the night at their homes in the villages, thus creating an opportunity for livestock rustlers to load such animals undisturbed at night. Most of these cases are undetected,” he added.

Furthermore, he said it has been discovered that some of the butchery owners, especially in Mahalapye, deal in receiving suspected stolen cattle because their carcasses end up in their business operations.

Last week, it was reported in one of the local newspapers that a certain Oarabile Tsotso, 34, also known as Moyo, was arrested in connection with two to three cases of stock theft.

Pastoral farmers were happy about Moyo’s arrest because they believed he was behind their stolen cattle.

Farmers believed that Moyo has been impoverishing them by stealing their stock, as he did not just steal but left farmers empty-handed.

It was reported that in one of the stock theft cases, an elderly farmer lost all 15 of his cattle.

The farmers also suspected that some police were involved in fraudulent activities regarding the sale of livestock. This is because, according to the animal registration database, some of the stolen cattle are sold legally by deceased persons.