HA-MUILA - A pensioner, Mrs Elisa Matuwa of Muumoni Village at Ha-Muila, paid R500 as admission of guilt on Monday after she was arrested in possession of a kudu carcass last Friday.

Last Wednesday, a kudu was killed by poachers at the Miadi Game Lodge. Ms Lucy Cholo, MD of Mapogo a Mathamakga and Kwena Security, whose company has been employed to protect the animals from poachers, immediately started searching for people selling kudu meat at Soekmekaar and Ha-Muila villages.

According to her, Lucy, the poachers only left the horns at the Game Lodge. At Soekmekaar, they were told that someone was selling kudu meat at Muumoni village. On Friday, a breakthrough was made at Mrs Elisa Matuwa’s RDP house. “We went there as if were going to buy meat, but with the idea of getting the suspect with an exhibit. As we entered the RDP house, we saw the kudu meat. After identifying ourselves to the ageing Matuwa, she started shivering, telling us that a young man staying on the same street had asked her to sell the kudu meat on his behalf,” she said.

Cholo said that she alerted the Tshitale SAPS who came and arrested the pensioner. “We hope and believe that this will deter people to accept stolen property and wild meat from young criminals. As gamekeepers, we are not going to stop protecting the farmers’ animals until such time that law breakers are dealt with in a court of law,” she said.

Mr Lasie Musina, also from the same security company, added that pensioners must refrain from involving themselves in criminal activities with young people. As poaching on their farms was becoming a major problem on a daily basis, the Bandelierkop farmers tried to request villagers of Tembisa, Thothololo, Kwaaidraai, Vlakfontein, Muila-Thondoni, Gumani and Muumoni to stop poaching on their farms at the gatherings held at the headmen’s kraal, but to no avail.

Early this year, the farmers resorted to employing Mapogo a Mathamakga in order to prevent unlawful hunting at their farms. With the view of getting friendly co-operation from residents of Ha-Muila, on various occasions, Cholo cautioned residents of Ha-Muila about poaching at the Bandelierkop farms during the gatherings held at the Muila tribal council. “It seems as if our requests fell into deaf ears, since this is the second incident within a period of two months. The more these people seems to be prepared to sell venison, the more we will be strengthening our force in curbing poaching,” said Cholo.

Mrs Matuwa, who spent the weekend at the Tshitale SAPS, paid R500 as admission of guilt for being in possession of a carcass. The Tshitale SAPS are still searching for the man who gave her the kudu meat.