Cross border crime rampant in Zone 11 despite FMD outbreak

Innocent Selatlhwa - Mbongeni Mguni | Monday June 1, 2026 06:00

While the Police in Phitshane Molopo are complaining that communities continue to disregard protocols set to contain the disease by crossing at times carrying meat at ungazetted areas, veterinary officials lament that they continue to confiscate meat and meat products, especially from truck drivers.

Speaking to Mmegi, Superintendent Pearl Nkele of Phitshane Molopo police, lamented that people from the policing area, which consists mostly of villages along the South Africa - Botswana borderline, continue to cross the border at ungazetted areas as they used to do before the FMD outbreak in South Africa and some areas in the Good Hope District.

“Ever since the FMD outbreak, the situation remains the same as we continue to arrest people crossing into and out of Botswana at ungazetted areas. “This is despite our efforts to spread the message and warn people against crossing, especially with meat and meat products. “We still catch some of them with meat and meat products and charge them accordingly,” she said.

Nkele said security organs including Special Support Group and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) are working hard policing the borderline. She said they continue to monitor the border and ensure that any livestock found in the red zone (between the veterinary fences) or in South Africa are killed in accordance with the set protocols.

Nkele said they also man roadblocks into and out of the zone, as well as within it.

She explained that some Batswana get caught disregarding the set regulations, stating that she had a recent case in which someone was caught with a cow carcass in the boot of their car.

“Imagine, they had the guts to do so despite knowing we are on high alert and that there are roadblocks. “It shows that we still have a long way to go in fighting the disease. We accordingly charge them, looking at the Disease Control Act,” she said.

Nkele also said they work closely with villagers in the form of mephato (traditional regiments) who are helping their communities fight the spread of the disease by keeping the borderline clear. She said that, despite their resources being stretched by the many interventions they have in place, they deploy officers to patrol alongside the volunteers where possible.

The station commander also expressed concern that, despite their efforts, community members continue to leave their livestock to roam rather than herding them and keeping them in kraals.

“Just recently, some goats were stolen from Botswana to South Africa. This shows that farmers don’t close their livestock in kraals overnight. They then spend the night closer to the borderline, making it easy for thieves to steal them,” she said.

Despite the illegal movements, Nkele said the veterinary fence erected just along the border plays a significant role in slowing down the disease from entering the country. She said that, although the fence is cut almost daily, veterinary and police officials attend to and fix it.

A veterinary officer stationed at one of the roadblocks where FMD fumigation takes place along the A1 Road at Otse, Oromilwe Wantwa, decried that truck drivers give them a tough time.

Wantwa says they continue to catch many drivers carrying meat and milk and claim not to know about the restrictions.

“We catch a lot of truck drivers coming from South Africa with beef and pork. They usually carry just enough for themselves so that they can stop and cook along their journeys,” he said.

Wantwa said they confiscate the meat and milk and burn it in a pit nearby with the owners watching to bear evidence. He said that, though there are further legal actions that can be taken, they usually just confiscate the goods and let the perpetrators walk.

Mokatako-Molete kgosi, Omphitlhetse Manyeneng, expressed disappointment with the role parents are taking in the FMD crossborder crisis.

“In neighbouring South Africa, when there’s a wedding, you have parents asking their sons to fetch them an animal for slaughter, knowing full well they don’t have livestock. “These children then cross the border, steal livestock and cross back. “How do you slaughter an animal knowing that you don’t have that livestock in your homestead? “We tried to arrange a meeting with dikgosi across the border, but unfortunately it did not take place,” she said.

Mokatako villager elder, Seosenyeng Moraladi, said the trend even has a term.

“Ba go bitsa go phanda,” he told Mmegi.