Madimbo village’s traditional leader, Khosi vho Nne Madimbo has expressed serious concern over rampant stock theft cases occurring between Zimbabwe and South Africa, following the vandalism of the border fence dividing the two countries.

Madimbo told Mirror recently that, of late, they had been continuously receiving reports of cattle being stolen from either side of the border in areas of Madimbo and Tshitulipasi village outside Beit Bridge on the Zimbabwean side of the border. “We are getting more and more cases of cattle being stolen by organized syndicates, involving suspects from both South Africa and Zimbabwe and this has largely been attributed to the boundary fence which was not properly erected. These results in cattle straying to either side of the border and cattle rustlers are now taking advantage of that,” he said.

Madimbo said they would soon hold a meeting with their Zimbabwean counterparts to address the problem. He also urged those who had lost their cattle to report to the Masisi SAPS. “We recently had a meeting at Madimbo military base and I am glad that some of the stolen cattle were subsequently recovered at the base by members of the SANDF,” said the chief.

The councillor for the Tshitulipasi area, Mr Enock Ndou, also expressed concern over the same issue, saying some of the stolen cattle were also being smuggled into neighbouring Mozambique through the Sengwe corridor.

Recently, Zimbabwean police recovered a total of 60 stolen cattle, which were intended to be smuggled into Mozambique, and arrested three suspects, two locals and a Mozambican national linked to the syndicate.

Ndou said they had also organized a similar meeting with their Mozambican counterparts aimed at tackling the problem of stock theft.