In the remote village of Matshelagabedi, in north-eastern Botswana, 67-year old Philemon Malikongwa says life will never be the same again.
Each night, the sound of barking dogs suggest more trouble for him and other fear-struck villagers who live at the mercy of predatory cattle rustlers, from Zimbabwe.
For the past 40 years, Malikongwa, a subsistence cattle farmer, says he and his fellow villagers had lived in peace in this dry part of Botswana. For him and many other villagers here, livestock farming is an age-old tradition that is their only source of livelihood.
But daring raids by desperate Zimbabwean cattle rustlers is forcing most of these farmers to reconsider their options — leaving them no choice but to make fundamental changes to their lifestyle.
The farmers say they are under serious threat from a new breed of highly organised cattle rustlers from Zimbabwe who are using mountain bikes to negotiate the rough terrain in the country. They say the cattle rustlers are carrying out daring forays into Botswana, stealing hundreds of cattle and small livestock in a single overnight raid.
“We have lost hundreds of cattle over the past few years and we are still losing more,” says Busang Busang, a communal farmer from the nearby Sekokwe village. “The bicycle gangs can drive a whole village’s herd across the border in one night. We understand that the cattle are sold or exchanged for goods in Zimbabwe.
“Although the police are doing their best, it appears that this is one war that they cannot win.”
The Botswana government, accused by the Harare authorities of ill-treating its nationals who visit that country, has stepped up police and military patrols in villagers along the border with Zimbabwe.
Border
But even the heavy presence of the Botswana security forces has failed to dissuade the cattle rustlers from breaching the notoriously porous border at will.
Large numbers of illegal Zimbabwean immigrants continue to cross the border into Botswana at illegal entry points, fleeing an unprecedented seven-year-old economic crisis at home. Relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana are strained with the Gaborone authorities accusing illegal Zimbabwean immigrants of stoking crime in their country.
“Many people are slowly abandoning cattle farming because they do not see any sense in raising herds that will be lost to thieves one day,” said another Botswana villager.
He said most farmers no longer report crimes to the police because property stolen on the Botswana side of the border can be quickly stashed in Zimbabwean villages within minutes. “If your house is ransacked or you can’t find your livestock for just one day, you should quickly give up all hope of recovery and start accepting your loss,” he said.
To make matter worse, even if the police recover stolen cattle from Zimbabwe, the cattle are quickly put down on arrival as part of Botswana’s disease-control policy.
Whose fault is it?
Police in Matsiloje village told independent news service ZimOnline that although crime has reached unprecedented levels in villages along the Zimbabwe border, the fault sometimes lies with the Botswana cattle farmers.
“The farmers blame us for not doing enough to stop it, but they should know that the illegal Zimbabwean immigrants they employ and underpay are not here to work for charity.
“They are here to seek riches, and the farmers should know by now that any underpaid poor man who finds himself in charge of a big herd can be strongly tempted to steal. That is exactly what happens here,” said a senior police officer who spoke to ZimOnline on condition of anonymity.
He said some of the cattle rustlers are on “revenge missions” after being expelled by the Botswana farmers without receiving their wages.
Another cattle herder said: “Some employers literally hand their Zimbabwean employees over to the police shortly before pay day so that they can be arrested and deported. Those are the ones who lose everything when former cattle herders come to steal the equivalent of their dues with all the interest added.”
Botswana Agriculture Minister Peter Siele said the government is aware of the problem of cattle rustling along the border with Zimbabwe. He said police patrols are being intensified on both sides of the border while efforts are being made to find a lasting solution to illegal immigration and cross-border crime.
But for cattle farmers such as Malikongwa and hundreds others in Matshelagabedi, efforts to find a lasting solution to the crisis may come a little bit too late. — ZimOnline