02 Jul 2018

The director of anti Stock theft branch, Senior Assistant Commissioner Maloti Segola says all magistrates who preside over stock theft cases have been trained.

In an interview with BOPA, Senior Assistant Commissioner Segola explained that the only challenge facing cases of stock theft was that most prosecutors being police officers had not received training.

However, she explained there was a cordial relationship between prosecutors and presiding officers which contributed to most cases being won by the state even though convicts were repeating offenders.

She explained further that government had set up special stock theft courts across the country strategically located where stock theft cases were on the increase.

Such courts she said were found in Mahalapye, Mochudi, Molepolole, Jwaneng and Kang adding that the places experienced high rate of stock theft cases.

She said Mahalapye Magistrate Court currently had 19 cases of which 11 were on trial while eight were still mentioning.

Ms Segola further explained that Mochudi Magistrate Court had 26 stock theft cases of which 14 were before court while the remaining were mentioning.

Molepolole tops the list with 43 stock theft cases, 25 of which were on trial and 18 were mentioning.

Jwaneng registered 13 cases with 10 on trial and three mentioning while Kang had five, all on trial.

She said that plans were underway to reduce incidences of stock theft in the country citing the Botswana Police Service Kgomo-Khumo campaign, currently ongoing in the Kgalagadi District.

She said the police service had set up a stock theft unit and also developed an anti-stock theft strategy adding that since the inception of the special stock theft courts in the affected areas, stock theft cases were declining. ENDS