E200 000 worth of stolen cattle recovered in SA
Mkhulu Million Silindza (22) is elated after the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) acted promptly and recovered 22 of his stolen cattle in South Africa.
Losing E200 000 instantly is one of the most horrible experiences for anyone and that is what Mkhulu Silindza felt this past week after he discovered that 22 of his cattle are missing at his home at Mbangave, Mhlambanyatsi.
Silindza disclosed to Eswatini Financial Times (EFT) that he could not believe it when he received a call from one officer at the Manzini Police Station who informed him that his stolen cattle were spotted somewhere at Mayflower in the Republic of South Africa, last Thursday.
Mkhulu Silindza who is geographically located at Embangave under the Mhlambanyatsi Inkhundla told EFT that it was last Wednesday night when the thieves probably from SA drove out of his kraal 22 of his 53 herd of cattle.
“I had just recovered from a certain ailment and on this day, I had asked some residents in the community to gather my cattle in preparedness for a dip tank visit the following day (Thursday) and little did I know that they were going to be stolen that same night,” Mkhulu said.
He said that he reported the theft on Thursday morning and it took a few hours for the members of the REPS to recover his cattle.
According to Mkhulu, he did not believe that his cattle would be recovered immediately.
“In 2008 I lost 7 of my cattle in the same manner and they have never recovered up to this date I would like to thank the REPS for their resilience and prompt action, this time around.
Further, Mkhulu Silindza disclosed that it is the same REPS who have already provided transportation of his recovered herd of cattle back to Eswatini, this week.
“The government provided 2 trucks for the transportation of my cattle from SA but unfortunately they couldn’t be returned to me as they have to first be taken to a quarantine at Maphiveni in the Lubombo Region as a procedure for livestock which has been in SA due to the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak,” Mkhulu pointed out.
Moreover, Mkhulu disclosed that he was very much devastated after the theft of his livestock.
“I am solely dependent on livestock farming and if this stolen was not recovered, I would have been devastated,” Silindza lamented.