E Cape stocktheft to be tackled by top experts

NEWLY appointed national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khehla John Sitole has declared war on the scourge of stock theft in Eastern Cape rural areas.

Tabling his vision at a community outreach programme at the Mngqesha Great Place outside King William’s Town yesterday, Sitole said livestock was the backbone of the rural economy and it needed to be protected.

“As part of my vision, we have decided to set up a task team that will deal specifically with stock theft in your villages,” he said.

Sitole was responding to an outcry from villagers, who packed a marquee to raise frustrations about rising crime.

Fifteen villagers asked questions and made recommendations to Sitole and Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga on how to solve the ongoing problem.

Sitole said experts in combating livestock theft would be dispatched from the national head office to help deal with the problem.

Another of Sitole’s plans is to shut down taverns near schools, including those with liquor licences.

● Ntshinga came under fire from residents who accused the police of poor performance in another area.

Addressing her, Buffalo City Metro circumcision coordinator Chief Stanley Makinana accused police of not taking circumcision crimes seriously.

Ntshinga defended her troops, saying nothing had been mentioned by the initiation task team to her. She asked Makinana to forward all the cases to her head office in Zwelitsha.

Most villagers complained that police stations were too far away from them and said shortages of police vans were critical. They called for satellite police stations in their villages. —