KENNETH MOENG MOKGATLHE: Livestock theft threatens food security

The increase in livestock theft in SA poses a serious threat to the country’s food security, which is already at risk due to high food prices, drought and economic challenges. As an aspirant farmer it is discouraging to hear small-scale and commercial farmers sharing their ordeals, with livestock often stolen from them by armed criminals.

It is heartbreaking that many of these criminals are known to rural communities, but they are seldom caught and almost never charged or punished, so there is little to deter others from stealing from farmers. There is also a widely held belief among farmers that the criminals work with crooked police to ensure they are never made to account for their crimes.

When I was researching a livestock theft story as a freelance journalist last week it became clear that contrary to widespread belief, race plays no role — stock theft victims are as likely to be black as white. And black farmers are as concerned about farm murders as their white counterparts.

Farmer George Boinamo, 68, told me how he had to run for his life when stock thieves threatened to kill him. He believes the main motive for farm murders in SA is not linked to race but is intended to intimidate and weaken farm security in general, so the criminals can steal without hindrance.

“For most of winter I’ve been sleeping in the bushes because these thugs have been coming to my house in an attempt to kill me. I’ve asked, without success, for the police to patrol my farm,” Boinamo says.

Lest we forget, the food we eat is produced by these farmers, so it is in all of our direct interest to put pressure on the authorities to help farmers secure their properties and their lives. While the SA population grows by the year, the number of farmers is  decreasing, which will be problematic for all of us in the long run.

The declining number of farmers also means there is a significant loss of employment and business opportunities in the agricultural sector. According to research by economic research institution Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies, agricultural employment in SA’s commercial farming sector is declining at an alarming rate. Between 1988 and 1998 the sector shed a staggering 140,000 regular jobs, a decline of roughly 20%.

By driving farmers and their employees off the land, unchallenged livestock theft is posing a serious threat to the food production of this country. It is worrying that the ANC-led government seems to be unbothered by this practice and the brutal murder of farmers and farm workers.

At Nietverdiend in the North West, near Madikwe Game Reserve, farmers have installed surveillance cameras that have helped curb the rise in livestock theft. One surveillance camera costs about R55,000, and each farm requires at least two or three cameras to cover all the roads used by criminals.

It is disappointing that even when there is clear video evidence showing criminals and the vehicles they use, the Nietverdiend farmers have not yet seen a single successful investigation and prosecution for livestock theft. At times the police do not even bother to investigate — they simply send out an electronic message to the complainant informing them that the case has been closed due to “insufficient evidence”. It is clear that our police service is broken, or corrupted, or both.

Though there was livestock theft in 1980 under apartheid, when Boinamo started breeding his cattle, he says the police were effective in keeping this crime under control. The farmer told me the commando system, where farmers worked with police to set up roadblocks, patrol farm roads at night and investigate livestock theft, was highly effective.

The commando system was abolished by the new democratic government after 1994, and Boinamo says now “the police unit mandated to help fight livestock theft... are the same people who are stealing from us”.

• Mokgatlhe is an independent political analyst and writer based in the North West