Close to 400 cattle stolen in Zambezi this year
Staff Reporter
THE Minister of Gender Equality and Poverty Eradication Doreen Sioko has expressed concern about the high cases of cattle stolen in the Zambezi region, as Namibians have to initiate cross border negotiations and pay ransom to recover their stolen animals.
The minister highlighted that about 327 cattle in the Zambezi were stolen from January 2023 to September 2023 and smuggled into neighbouring Zambia. As an intervention, the minister has discouraged Zambian nationals from charging Namibian nationals whenever cattle are recovered in Zambia, as they will demand two cattle from the recovered or any amount from N$5000.00 or more.
Sioka shared that farmers who reside alongside and adjacent areas of the Namibia-Zambia border came up with the idea of forming an Anti-Stock W Association due to the weekly, if not daily increase in the number of cross-border stock theft to assist the Namibia Police in curbing stock theft.
She added that since the formation of the Association, there has been a significant increase in recoveries of stock theft/both in Zambia and locally in the Zambezi Region alongside the borderline from Katima Mulilo to Singalamwe/Kamenga. Of the stolen (327) cattle, 217 cattle worth N$ 1819 000.00 were recovered, while 113 cattle worth N$960 500.00 remain unrecovered.
“Poverty is among the leading causes of stock theft. Some of the Namibians are recruited and collaborating with Zambians to steal cattle from Namibia across the border to Zambia at a payment of N$300.00 per cattle upon arrival, despite all the risks involved in being caught/arrested with a possibility of a prison sentence,” Sioka said.
She added that those who operate the business of selling meat through small abettors and black markets buy stolen cattle from thieves at a very cheap amount. For example, cattle which could be sold at N$9000.00 can be transacted at N$1800.00 to N$1500.00. In addition to this, she added that the border between Namibia is very easy to cross due to distance/and the fact that it is not even clearly visible and dense. This makes it easier for thieves to cross with cattle unnoticed and makes it more difficult in case the trackers are following in case cattle has been stolen.
“Our fellow Namibians are unwilling to indulge themselves with cattle herding by earning a salary and considering it as work or a job. We therefore rely on Zambians as our workers, whereby some of them come back and steal from their former employer,” Sioka added.
Giving solutions, Sioka called for security patrol and Namibian Police visibility alongside the Namibian border by setting up police posts more especially in well-known hotspot areas. Further to this, she called for the clearing of the border between Katima Mulilo and Singalamwe/Kamenga borderline for visibility purposes and easy cattle tracking.”
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