Continued incidents of livestock theft and slaughter are severely impacting local farmers in the Niani area, as well as various other parts of the Vhembe region. In areas such as Malale, Gumbu, Mukununde, Masisi, and nearby areas, farmers are facing significant losses.
On Thursday, 10 August, seven cows of Mr Colbert Mukwevho, a farmer from Malala, were found slaughtered. "I searched for my cows in the bushes where the others were grazing, but I couldn't find them. It was getting late, so I decided to go home and told myself I would find them the next day."
What Mukwevho discovered the next morning was shocking. "The thugs had cut off their legs and slaughtered them, taking the meat and leaving the heads in the bushes," he said.
Mukwevho suspects that the meat had been sold to local butcheries. He said this was not the first time his cattle had been killed by thugs, but he had never expected it to happen again. "This has become a nightmare for everyone who has invested in livestock in the area. We will have peace of mind only when the police catch these thugs. It is painful, especially because one of my cows was pregnant," he said.
The total value of all the cattle stolen in recent months in the region is estimated to be more than R800,000, and Mukwevho appealed to anyone with information to come forward.
Mr Sunday Mpofu, the chairperson of the Masisi Livestock Forum, confirmed that livestock theft has been ongoing, with thieves poaching and slaughtering animals for meat, which they sell in the community and even abroad in Zimbabwe. "Since last year, we have established a strong relationship with people from Zimbabwe, and they now help us recover our livestock whenever they arrive in that country," said Mpofu.
Limpopo police spokesperson Lt-Col Malesela Ledwaba said that the authorities were busy investigating these cases of stock theft.