Police take away ‘stolen’ lobola cow
A NORTHERN KZN family have demanded answers from their son-inlaw after police confiscated one of the six cows the man had paid for their daughter’s lobola following allegations that the cow was stolen.
The family, from Makhukhula Village, said they were disappointed to find out that one of the cows had been stolen.
According to a family member who wished not to be named, the family celebrated when their daughter was paid lobola in 2019 and could not wait for their daughter to get married.
But this week, the family were disappointed to discover that one of the cows was stolen.
One of the cows had recently given birth, adding to the six cows that the husband-to-be had paid as part of the bride price.
“The cows have been here since 2019. We co-operated with what the police said and gave them the cow and the calf. We want answers from our son-in-law about these allegations. When he brought the cows to us, he provided a letter which is the proof of purchase we were given by our sonin-law when he paid lobola. We were aware that he bought the cow from someone in the area.
He said the family were yet to meet to discuss the way forward because as per the tradition, the son-in-law would have to pay all the cows before the two families could agree on a date of the wedding.
“I cannot divulge the details of how many cows were still outstanding as that information is known by the family elders,” he said.
He said the police had warned them not to say anything to their son-in-law or the person whom the son-in-law allegedly bought the cow from as the investigations continued.
Police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala said the Zululand Multi-District Stock Theft Task Team followed up information regarding the livestock that were stolen at Gluckstadt Village over the weekend.
Gwala said the team went to the Makhukhula area where a stray cow was found grazing along the road.
“The cow was positively identified by the owner as the one that was stolen over the weekend. The team proceeded to another homestead where a cow and a calf were found at the same area. During the investigation, it was established from the family that the cattle was brought in March 2019 to the homestead, as lobola for their daughter.
“The cow and two-month-old calf were seized by police and were positively identified by the lawful owner. Investigations are still ongoing,” said Gwala.
The family member said they were disappointed to see the cow and its calf leave because they were happy that their family herd of cattle was growing.
He said their daughter was both embarrassed and disappointed to see some of the cows paid as her bride price leaving her home with the police
“She cried. Understandably so, any bride-to-be would cry in this situation. We are, however, going to co-operate with the police and respect the investigation. We are now asking ourselves about the rest of the cows as police promised that they would be back to continue the investigation.” he said.
The bride-to-be denied crying when the police took away the cow and its calf.
“I was disappointed, but I did not cry because I know that my fiancé is going to sort out this misunderstanding. If it is true that the cow was stolen, then the two families would have to discuss the way forward because I am sure that my fiancé was not aware that the cow was stolen.”