10 Jul 2019

Assistant Commissioner Dipheko Motube has warned Ngamiland community to expect less meat as KgomoKhumo operation continues to bite.

He said in an interview that the operation’s outcome could result in closure of some butcheries in Ngamiland and Ghanzi as the operation team continued to break syndicates that had been supplying meat of stolen cattle.

During the operation, he said, they realised that some syndicates had been supplying some feedlots and that some butchery owners were also involved.

Assistant Commissioner Motube announced that some culprits had been brought before court and some had been convicted.

On average, he said two people appeared before court weekly, adding that was a clear signal to other culprits who had not been caught.

He expressed optimism that many would relocate from cattle posts/farms to villages because the team’s presence was being felt everywhere.

He also appreciated that the number of cattle at feedlots had gone down drastically, which he noted was a clear indication that only few butcheries would trade.

He said farmers should expect cattle, which had been missing for years to resurface with new brand marks.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Motube said recently, Etsha 6 Customary Court convicted and sentenced a 50-year-old man of Boyei ward to five years in jail.

The man was found in possession of a carcass suspected to be of a stolen beast and it was reported that part of the meat was sold to his girlfriend at Etsha 9, while the remainder was sold to the community.

Assistant Commissioner Motube also revealed that they had arrested three men aged between 19 and 34 in possession of eight cattle suspected to be stolen at Makola cattle post near Komana.

The suspects, he said, branded the cattle with their brand marks and they suspected that the cattle were driven from Lake Ngami in Sehithwa where most astray cattle were found.

He said farmers did not look after their cattle, the situation that criminals took advantage of, hence the escalating incidents of stock theft in the district.

He said some farmers only looked for their cattle when they want edto sell them.

Assistant Commissioner Motube also highlighted that four men aged between 30 and 37 were arrested in connection with three decomposed carcasses suspected to be of stolen cattle.

The carcasses, he said, were dumped in a thick bush at Malotswe cattle post west of Etsha 13 with the branded skin removed.

He appealed to farmers to visit their cattle posts regularly to accustom themselves with all their livestock and also to invite police to visit sale yards and abattoirs regularly. ENDS