Gangsters spread fear in jamakata

GALE NGAKANE
Correspondent | Friday September 17, 2010 00:00

JAMATAKA: The headman of Jamataka, Gaebolae Goitseone, says they are living in fear of marauding thieves and cattle rustlers who have turned the settlement  into a gangsters' paradise. Jamataka, about 20 kilometres west on the Francistown-Orapa Road, is predominately made up of people of Sesarwa origin, though there are also BaKalanga.

Goitseone revealed in an interview that a farmer just across the Orapa road remained with a few sheep because the rustlers raided his kraal taking everything including goats.

A month ago, the rustlers struck again taking 50 herd of cattle belonging to another farmer eastwards at Bina-Le-Ngwana ward. 

Both farmers could not reached for comment, but Goitseone insisted that stock theft cases in his jurisdiction has gone out of hand.

Regarding cattle belonging to the second farmer he said:  'They branded the cattle, but luckily some of them escaped and came to their place of origin. They followed the cattle and managed to take only one, which they killed just outside the village. Those men were arrested, but within days they were out with some of them threatening to burn us inside our huts,' said the chief who added that together with others trying to maintain law and order in the village, they were now living in fear because of threats.

Goitseone said they suspect that some of the threats have been carried out because there have been incidents of some huts being burnt mysteriously in the village.  One such hut belonged to a disabled woman who was assaulted and then robbed of her belongings, the chief alleged. 'The thing is these people (the rustlers) are arrested, but then you will see them walking about the following day. I do not know whether it is because they have strong lawyers or not. We simply do not know what happens once they reach Francistown.

'The situation has become so terrible. Soon people will start looking the other way when they find the rustlers stealing livestock,' Goitseone said.

But Tati Town police station commander, Superintendent Tebogo Madisa, contradicted the chief saying it could be that people in the village were not reporting cases of stolen livestock to the police.

'It is possible there may be cattle rustling syndicates, hence they do not report fearing that they would be exposed. I am surprised that they are not reporting. '

The police officer added that, 'What I am sure of is that nowadays there are fewer cases of rustling in Jamataka because there is a strong cluster.

'As for other forms of crime it is quite prevalent there. The thing is, there are so many shebeens in Jamataka.Residents have licences that permit them to operate even from homes.' Madisa noted that economy-wise, 'there is nothing that keeps people busy except those that get hired at the Matsitama mine or in Francistown. They  (Jamataka residents) end up resorting to alcohol, especially traditional brews.' 

Among criminal activities that the police have dealt with is assault common and unlawful wounding. Also, recently a solar panel belonging to the primary school was stolen and has not yet been recovered, according to Madisa. 

However, Kgosi Goitseone is adamant that his village is besieged by criminal elements and cattle rustlers, but added that he was happy there were people who could help in relaying their SOS message, that they were under siege, to relevant authorities.  'Ga re robale (we don't sleep),' he said.

A  Gaborone-based farmer labelled Jamataka 'the paradise of cattle rustlers'.

'I was a victim of cattle rustlers myself. In July, I ended up putting up the notice you saw at Basarwa Depot after the rustlers had taken over 10 of my cattle. I managed to recover them, but the rustlers came back and claimed one, which I have never seen to this day,' said the farmer who would not give his name out of fear. He added that  between June and September 'I lost seven beasts. Imagine what would happen in the next three months,' Asked if he was aware of syndicates of cattle rustlers in the area, he pleaded ignorance, though he did not rule out they exist.

For some time now, law enforcement establishment and the legal fraternity have trained their lenses on the dicey issue of stock theft.

Last year, former Chief Justice Julian Nganunu was in Francistown for a judicial conference where stock theft took centre stage.  He was quoted as saying that stock theft constituted a 'brazen attack and an affront to our society' and must be confronted head on.

Nganunu said in a bid to combat the problem the judiciary has established stock theft courts. 'Nothing like this has happened since the hey day of mandrax dealing and car theft. The law enforcement agencies must in turn record a visible defeat of these criminals. And they shall,' he said then. The stock theft courts started in earnest last year and it was the late magistrate Colonel Badirile Mooketsi at the Francistown Magistrate Court who was given the responsibility of presiding over the cases because of his expertise in the area.

One of the cases involved 85 cattle valued at P77, 000 that were said to have been stolen from neighbouring Zimbabwe.

But middle of this year, Mooketsi  died after a short illness.

At his funeral,  regional magistrate, Lorraine Makati-Lesang was feeling apprehensive saying his death was going to deal a deathblow to the continuation of pending cases. It is said that Mooketsi was one of the few magistrates who could handle such cases as they needed special skills more especially when it comes to identifying the stolen animals with their colours, traditional marks and brands.

Magistrate Mooketsi's pending cases have been allocated among the available magistrates though  Makati-Lesang said they were already overloaded with their own cases. She noted that a number of magistrates' courts across the country are understaffed. She admitted that it is going to be hard to find Mooketsi's replacement as the kind of job that he (Mooketsi) was doing needed more of natural talent as compared to just being an ordinary magistrate.

An  online manual from the Botswana police entitled 'Crime Prevention-stock theft layout' gives stock theft prevention tips to farmers. The first tip is for farmers to form anti-stock theft committees in their respective areas.

Another tip is to ensure that their animals have been marked appropriately. Farmers are encouraged to use the Livestock Identification Trace-back System (LITS).

Farm owners are also advised to secure property boundaries by keeping fences and gates in good repair and ensure gates have sturdy locks and hinges. They should also locate loading ramps away from perimeter fencing whenever possible.

Other tips according to the online manual are: * maintain accurate records, including livestock numbers, registration details, personal profiles of individual animals and livestock movement data.

This will help determine whether livestock has been stolen and appropriately when and where incidents have occurred, good records help police in their investigations and increase the likelihood of tracking down missing animals and the criminals who have stolen them;

* develop and maintain good relations with neighbours. A community that can work together is your best defence against crime. Let your neighbours know when you will be away from the farm/cattlepost and leave a contact telephone number and address. Ask your neighbours to keep an eye out for strangers and strange vehicles entering your property and ask them to contact you if any problems arise;

*work with the police to initiate a local newsletter to provide regular information to the community on crime and crime prevention strategies; encourage discussion about these important issues;

* Invite police to visit sale yards and abattoirs regularly. Police can use these visits as an opportunity to talk to farmers, livestock agents and sale yard or abattoir officials about farm crime;

* visit your farm/cattlepost regularly to accustom yourselves with all livestock issues; and  Report all incidents of livestock crime to the police.