A labour of love: How Mephato are helping fight FMD
Innocent Selatlhwa - Mbongeni Mguni | Monday June 1, 2026 06:00
With the Department of Veterinary Services and support services such as Botswana Police Service and the Botswana Defence Force, stretched thin across the vast zone, mephato at the village level have taken the frontline of not only defending the border, but also marshalling farmers to participate in activities such as vaccination. Mophato wa Mabeleakgomo from Mokatako and Molete villages have vowed to protect their territory at all costs.
Mabeleakgomo was formed in 2023 by the villagers led by Kgosi Omphitlhetse Manyeneng as a response to escalating cross-border crime, including stock theft.
“Since 2023 until early this year, we were fighting crime, but things now took a different turn as we had to face an unknown enemy. “We get to the border early in the morning and chase livestock away from the border all day. We even get calls at night when there is a situation, we react accordingly,” chairperson of the mophato, Peter Malobola explained.
He said theirs is a daunting task as they battle against livestock that is used to getting water from what is regarded as the red zone, being the veterinary fence placed on the side of Botswana along the Molopo River. Malobola noted that even though there is a borehole built for villagers to water their cattle along the border, the livestock keep close to the border.
He said they cooperate with security organs and Veterinary officers who, at times, help with transport.
“Just recently, we had a case of stock theft where the fence was cut by people who were stealing goats and took them to South Africa. “We also have a case of people who continuously steal these poles from the veterinary fence. This means we have a lot of work,” the chairperson added.
Malobola called on the government to mount surveillance cameras along the border to help keep the veterinary fence safe.
“We were told about the cameras, and we believe they were at work; they could have been assisting in saving our livestock. The poles get stolen regularly even after being replaced,” he said.
Malobola said he suspected that the culprits are residents working in cahoots with outsiders. He lamented that while they do their job diligently, they need assistance from the government and good Samaritans.
“We are in need of proper gear to traverse the terrains and do our work. Also, even though we are getting paid Ipelegeng allowance, it is not enough, and we even struggle to get it. It has been almost a month waiting to get paid,” he said.
He said, despite the challenges, they are doing it for their village and have done it for free before, so they would do their best to protect their livestock. For her part, Molete Kgosi Omphitlhetse Manyeneng expressed the frustrations of villagers.
“Mokatako’s livelihood is based strongly on cattle, goats and others, and once the warning was sounded, we held our meetings to prepare. “Our mophato began working very hard along the border, making sure livestock doesn’t go anywhere near, patrolling throughout the day and night. “Even today, not one animal has been killed in Mokatako for straying near the border.
“The mophato members are patrolling around the clock, making sure there’s no vandalism of the fence, but there was no support for them at all for a long time. “The Council finally asked for some to be placed under Ipelegeng remuneration, but it’s also rotational.”
Manyeneng said it is not just the mophato from their village doing the work along the borders. She said they also worked with mephato from the neighbouring villages who were doing the same job.