Times Of Swaziland: OVER 100 CATTLE STOLEN IN FIVE MONTHS

OVER 100 CATTLE STOLEN IN FIVE MONTHS
================================================================================
 BY PHIWASE PHUNGWAYO on 17/08/2020 01:02:00


SIGANGENI – Traditionally, a man’s riches are measured by the number of
cattle he owns, but what happens when they are stolen?
In the past five months, over 100 cattle belonging to various homesteads have
been stolen at Sigangeni. The most recent victim of cattle rustling is a farmer
who preferred to be referred to as Dlamini, who lost 42 cattle this year alone.
The farmer, who previously owned more than 100 cattle before they were stolen,
highlighted that this was not the first time his livestock had been stolen.
Dlamini said last year, he lost eight cattle to theft . Even in 2018, the farmer
revealed that cattle rustlers stole three of his animals.
He revealed that the cattle rustlers targeted the livestock when grazing in the
mountains during the day. He said this was usually when they (cattle) were not
under the supervision of herd boy.
Contemplated
“This is a huge blow to us and it has affected us greatly because livestock,
as we know, is an investment and wealth to emaSwati. Cattle can be used as a
business as well,” the farmer said.
He further lamented that it was unfortunate that he had lost almost half of his
cattle in only a year. When he was asked if he contemplated tightening security
to avoid his cattle being stolen again, he said; “What more security can you
have apart from hiring a herd boy? The truth of the matter is that even the herd
boy cannot work 24 hours,” Dlamini said.
He also mentioned that another option was to have ear tags, which were costly.
The tags provide some form of identification number or code for the animal.
The farmer divulged that each cow cost E4 000.
This means he had lost over the equivalent of E150 000 for the 42 cattle that
were stolen since the beginning of the year.
Another farmer from a Mavuso family said they lost 12 cattle in March. The
farmer suspected that his cattle were stolen during the day when they were
grazing in the fields.
“It was during the evening at around 6pm when my herd boy was driving them to
the cattle byre, when he noticed that some were missing. He then informed me and
it was the most devastating news,” Mavuso shared.
He added that as a new farmer, he was mostly affected and he even contemplated
quitting the industry. He said this was because cattle rustling was quickly
becoming a daily occurrence in the area.
“It is out of control here and thieves take as much as they want. I suspect
that they take these cattle to nearby countries such as South Africa, Mozambique
and Lesotho,” the farmer said.
Mciniseli Mabaso, a liSwati who rears cattle for subsistence purposes, revealed
that he got 15 cattle in 2016 as lobola from his son-in-law.
He stated that some of his cattle gave birth and his livestock multiplied. 
“It is unfortunate that three were first stolen in January this year and
another six in April,” he revealed.
The farmer said as a liSwati man who believed that a true man’s wealth lay in
his livestock, this destroyed him. He said it was unfortunate that even police
could not assist them promptly in this regard.
Another farmer who requested to remain anonymous said they were fighting a
losing battle with rustlers who targeted their livestock. He said from March
until now, he had lost 28 cattle from his 68.
“We are really concerned as farmers because this is done by the very people we
live with in the community.
This derails our progress and we are left with no choice but to arm ourselves
and hit back,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sifiso Matsebula, another farmer in the area, said they were slowly
losing all their livestock despite reporting the theft to the police. “In some
instances, the culprits are people who live in the area.
They know us and study the patterns of driving the cattle in and out of the
byres or target them when they are grazing without the presence of their herd
boys,” he suspected.
Security
He further stated that the cattle were then transported out of the country, into
South Africa. When they (thieves) reached the border, Matsebula suspected that
they studied the shifts of members of the armed security forces.
The farmer said the thieves would then illegally drive the livestock into the
neighbouring country.
He said the cattle were then sold to some businessmen who had farms in the
neighbouring country.
Sigangeni Headman Charles Mhlanga attested to that cattle theft cases were
becoming rife in the area.
“I would like to urge community members to ensure that they take their cattle
back home before they sleep. This will help them easily detect if they are
missing,” Mhlanga said.
He noted that some cattle farmers left  their livestock to graze in the fields
for days without returning home, and this was another factor which contributed
to them being easily stolen.
Mhlanga said there were other crimes such as burglaries which were happening in
the area.  The headman said it was then a challenge to track where the cattle
were taken to because of the coronavirus pandemic which made travelling almost
impossible.
He said the cattle were then rebranded in the neighbouring countries, to conceal
their identities.
He partly attributed the crime to the youth, who are idle and without jobs. He
added that laziness was another aspect which young people were faced with.
“We are working on these crime-related issues and have even identified some
suspects,” Mhlanga said.