A labour of love: How Mephato are helping fight FMD :: Mmegi Online

MOKATAKO: Alongside authorities spearheading the fight against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) stand men and women, with limited resources, who are fighting fiercely to stop the disease from affecting their villages along the border. Mophato members from here and neighbouring villages are sacrificing time, their livelihoods and energy, mounting a 24-hour operation without resources to defend the border. This effort is being done, while they have lost their incomes to a virus they have never seen in their area.

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.

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