Stock thieves employ new tricks – Police
As the police continue mounting a massive fight against stock theft syndicates through the anti-stock theft operation known as Kgomo-Khumo in the Central District, the operatives have since established new tricks that stock thieves employ to easily immobilise and then slaughter cattle. The police have established that thieves injure or cut tendons or mesiga of cows in the vernacular to immobilise them and later slaughter and sell their meat at a giveaway price. They have also discovered that with their modus operandi, the thieves just hang around the grazing areas, pounce on cows and slash/ cut their archilles tendons to immobilise them.
In an interview with Mmegi, the Botswana Police Service (BPS) public relations officer, Assistant Commissioner Dipheko Motube said Kgomo-Khumo operatives are currently fighting the scourge as they continue to register fresh cases against criminals.
“We have since established that thieves have introduced the new trick in which they easily pounce on people’s cattle, slaughter and sell their meat by cutting their achilles tendons to immobilise. They cut their tendons with slashers and since they (cattle) will no longer be able to walk, they later at night follow them, slaughter and sell their meat to their ready markets-butcheries and street vendors,” Motube said.
The police spokesperson further revealed that they are currently investigating three cases in which they found the cattle’s archilles tendons slashed off. He added that in another similar case, thieves were recently caught red-handed skinning an injured cow at Ramosimane cattlepost on the outskirts of Tewane village, outside Mahalapye. The senior police officer expressed fear that the move will soon force farmers to re-introduce herding their cattle as it used to happen decades ago to stop this scourge. “This is sad especially that most of the farmers in the Central District largely depend on rearing livestock for a living. This will now force farmers to consider herding their cattle as it used to be done back in the days by our forefathers or kraal them to avoid them from roaming the grazing area. Stock theft has become rampant and difficult to contain,” he said.
Sadly, Motube noted that stock theft will not easily end soon because such criminals have ready market being butcheries and street vendors and have turned stock theft into a business, a situation that is worsened by the demand for meat that remains high, especially in urban areas. Motube advised capable farmers to consider kraalling their animals, familiarise themselves with them and pay their herdsmen on time in order to motivate them. Furthermore, he disclosed that he had also established that some of them (herdsmen) have the habit of partnering with stock thieves, stealing their bosses’ livestock and selling them at a cheaper price.
“Usually, they would advise farmers not to brand their calves knowing very well that they do not know their exact numbers and would raise them for themselves and later sell them to stock thieves at a cheaper price. Some farmers own large numbers of cattle hence the challenge of monitoring or even knowing them all. I am calling on farmers to familiarise themselves with their animals by visiting their cattle posts frequently and not solely relegate the responsibility to farm workers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Motube applauded members of the community for their involvement in the fight against stock theft. He highlighted that their involvement is crucial as farming contributes immensely to the socio-economic growth of the country.
He further urged farmers to form clusters and also motivate others who are not yet members of farmers associations to join them as they have since proven to be essential in combating stock theft.