Members of the South African Police in Limpopo and their Zimbabwean counterparts will soon meet to finalise discussions over the recent shooting of more than 100 cattle belonging to villagers living along the Madimbo Corridor in the Chitulipasi area of Beitbridge, along the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwean provincial commissioner of police in Matabeleland South, Ronald Muderedzwa, told Mirror on Monday that the issue would be in the spotlight during an interprovincial cooperation meeting, involving police from the two provinces of Limpopo and Matabeleland South. The meeting will be held sometime this month. The meeting is a follow up to another meeting held in the Matopos area in Zimbabwe in April.

"We will be meeting our South African counterparts in Limpopo province, where we hope to get the final analysis of the incident involving the shooting of 100 cattle belonging to villagers in Chitulipasi area of Beitbridge along the Madimbo Corridor, following the completion of our joint investigations," he said.

The cattle were reportedly shot by SANDF members, using a helicopter, following an instruction from the Department of Agriculture. The cattle had reportedly strayed into the South African side of the border where the soldiers were training at their Madimbo Camp outside Musina.

"Our South African counterparts told us that the stray cattle were shot as part of an anti-foot-and-mouth disease operation, but as police we are saying the veterinary people were supposed to take samples first before rushing to shoot the cattle," Muderedzwa said. He said, however, that the chances of the villagers’ getting compensation were bleak as the entire exercise was hidden within the legal framework.

"While we are going to discuss the issue during the interprovincial cooperation meeting, it should also be noted that the whole exercise is hidden under a legal framework since the South African Veterinary officials are standing their ground, saying the operation was legal. It is therefore going to be difficult for the villagers to get compensated for their cattle, especially when it is also noted that the animals had strayed into a prohibited territory," Muderedzwa said.

The villagers recently appealed to their government to negotiate with the South African government so that they could be compensated their 100 cattle, which were allegedly recently shot by members of the South African National Defence Force.

The shooting incident, which occurred in June, prompted the police chiefs from Limpopo and Matabeleland South provinces to meet over the issue as it also sparked an outcry among the Zimbabwean villagers.

Cattle are a major source of livelihood for most villagers in the Beitbridge district area as well as being a way of measuring wealth.

People from the Chitulipasi area normally let their cattle graze on the South African side of the border because of the good pastures and since the area is not inhabited. However, the area is also being used by SANDF for their training programmes.

In the past, the SANDF would either drive back the stray cattle back to the neighbouring country or alternatively allow villagers themselves to cross over the Limpopo River and take their animals.