Thaba-Tseka – A Kwazulu Natal farmer aged over 65 could not hold his tears when he lamented the story of his stolen cattle.This happened when Mr. Tomas Ndlangamisa from Anderberg was speaking on Tuesday regarding his six cows which he said were stolen from his kraal on June 7.
business
June 29, 2018
3 min read
Stock theft breaks farmer’s heart
According to Mr. Ndlagamisa, he has been a victim of stock theft for many years that he cannot even remember when it started. He said losing livestock to thieves is heart-breaking as one does not know where to start looking for their livestock and when the animals are not found the pain is unbearable.
Mr. Ndlagamisa said it is hurting that there is no trace of his cattle yet he survives on livestock for a living. Having 12 children, he said, their needs depend on selling livestock and when the number of animals they have as a family is depleted, it simply means it will be hard to meet their daily needs.
He said it is not the first time they have been victims of stock theft, saying ever since the scourge started, he has lost about 100 cattle. He lamented that some of the cattle were never found, but for those found they were traced and found in Lesotho - Sehonghong and Ha Paulosi police station.
Mr. Ndlagamisa came to Thaba-Tseka with the South Africa Police Services (SAPS) to identify if the 15 cattle seized by the police over the weekend belonged to him. In an interview with Sergeant Guguletho Gebuza, from Himville Police Station Stock Theft Unit in Kwazulu Natal, he said stock theft between Lesotho and South Africa has been going on for a long time without any remedy, adding that serious intervention to control the situation is vital.
He said Basotho steal from South Africans and in turn South Africans steal from Basotho, adding that it is only through working in collaboration with communities of both countries that stock theft can be curbed. Sergeant Gebuza and his team were part of the squad which came looking for stolen livestock in Thaba-Tseka.
He said the chain seems unbreakable since most of the Lesotho animals are not branded. According to him, this is the reason why it has become easy to steal livestock. “When the cattle arrive in SA they are branded and it becomes difficult for Basotho to identify them as their own, even when found,” said the Sergeant
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Sergeant Kebuza said it would be easy to control the situation if Lesotho would push for every livestock farmer to have his animals branded, saying, for them, it is easy to identify stolen animals from SA as the law is clear on what should happen to farmers whose animals are not branded.
Talking about another challenge which he said needs to be addressed, he said some have hired cattle posts in South Africa and most stolen animals cross into SA using permits. Therefore, since Lesotho livestock are not branded, it is difficult to identify which animals are crossing the border illegally.
He said at most of the cattle posts, stolen animals are found during search campaigns. Besides cattle posts, he said some animals which are believed to be from Lesotho, but cannot be proved to be from Lesotho because they are not branded, are being sold in the CBD temporary kraals in town.
“Lack of boundaries between Thaba-Tseka and South Africa make it easy for animals to cross between both countries; hence, those routes are mostly used by thieves, especially Bush’men Nek,” he said.
Sergeant Kebuza said, in Lesotho, thieves take small stock such as sheep and goats while in SA they steal cattle and donkeys to exchange them for sheep and goats. He said, in SA, it costs about M1,600 to buy a sheep or a goat.
The SA team had come to look for about 11 cattle from Bulwa believed to be valued at M72,000. They were also looking for 11 sheep from Himville, valued at M14,000. All the stolen animals are reported to be branded. The district Commanding Officer, Senior Superintendent Litsietsi Selimo also confirmed that stock theft between the two countries remains a challenge. Lena
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