05 Feb 2014

Chief Justice Maruping Dibotelo has warned stock thieves and would-be stock thieves that the courts will punish them severely.

Speaking at the opening of the 2014 legal year in Gaborone on February 4, Justice Dibotelo said incidents of stock theft had grown at an alarming rate in certain parts of the country; elevating stock theft to a transnational issue with new and attractive markets opening up in some neighbouring countries.

“Stock theft is viewed as one of the most serious offences by Batswana. The cattle industry has for many years been a major income earner for most households in Botswana and the larger economy,” said Justice Dibotelo.

He added that government established special stock theft courts in Molepolole, Francistown, Jwaneng, Letlhakane, Selebi Phikwe and Palapye as a way of bringing the court’s services closer to the people and facilitating quick disposal of stock theft cases in some of the furthest parts of this country.

He further revealed that these courts had so far received seven vehicles that the AoJ had requested in the previous financial year, and thanked government for the noble support.

Justice Dibotelo appealed to other actors, among them the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), defence lawyers, Attorney General and various ministries, to give a helping hand in order to achieve the common goal of fighting stock theft.

“Cattle ownership is a source of pride and identity for most Batswana. Stock theft has over the years become lucrative and more complex.

The Administration of Justice (AoJ) expected the police, public prosecutors and investigators with specialised training and in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the stock theft industry and its operations to take the lead in the investigation and prosecution of this type of cases,” he said.

He commended the Jwaneng and Molepolole stock theft courts for achieving over 90 per cent monthly disposal rate in the previous year but expressed worry at the unsatisfactory disposal rate in Letlhakane, Mochudi, Selibe Phikwe and Francistown.

Justice Dibotelo also revealed that the DPP had already started committing corruption cases to the High Court, adding that there were 11 cases at varying stages of management pending before the High Court, with trial dates already set for some of the cases.

“With the appointment of a Judge of the High Court dedicated to hear these cases, there is hope that the disposal of such cases is going to be speeded up,” said Justice Dibotelo. ENDS