23 Sep 2013

Palapye's Magistrate Refilwe Resheng says farmers should not be intimidated by the language used at the magistrate courts.

Speaking at the stock theft strategy launch in Lechana on September 21, Ms Resheng said even though English was used, there were interpreters who would make it easier for farmers to understand what was said in court.

She indicated that farmers preferred to take their stock theft cases to the customary court because they were intimidated by the language used in court. She said farmers often complained that magistrates did not understand anything about livestock rearing which resulted in them granting suspects in stock theft cases bail.

However, she told farmers that granting suspects bail was a Constitutional right, but appropriate measures would also be taken if suspects were found guilty. She added that suspects also had the right to legal representation.

Mandatory sentencing for a first offender in stock theft case, she said, was five years or a sentence not exceeding 14 years for a repeat offender. However, she said it was important that complainants knew their exhibits well and should not leave such responsibility to herdsmen.

“If the herdman comes to court and knows the exhibit better than the owner it is bad,” she said. She stated that often markings done on animals created a problem which resulted in accused persons winning cases. She explained that markings done on livestock were not unique thus encouraged farmers to use ear tags, bolus and brand mark on their livestock.

Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) official, Ms Merapelo Mokgosi encouraged farmers to inform the police handling their stock theft cases of their change of location. That, she said will make it easier for them to be located when their cases were before the courts.

She said failure to inform the police about the change of location often made it difficult for the prosecution and the court to continue with cases. She also urged them to take care of their exhibits so that they would be able to show it to the court when required to do so. Ends