Mathaba told The Monitor that crime statistics show an average of three to four cases per week with most of the incidents seeming to occur at night.
He said it appears criminals target unoccupied houses, which they have spotted, assessed, and later steal from at night. He stated that usually the owners residing elsewhere will only realise the damage when they visit the site.
"We have launched a probe to locate and arrest the suspects. Mmathethe village leadership suspect that outsiders might be the ones committing the offence and drive back because they used to hear about this kind of offence in cities and bigger, more developed villages," he said.
Mathaba said, together with the village leadership, they have tightened cluster policing and pleaded with community neighbourhood watch teams to help them arrest the criminals.
Meanwhile, he revealed that stock theft is also a concern in the area because most of the farmers are failing to kraal their livestock at night, which also poses a threat to motorists. He said this weekend they found a cow killed and abandoned in the outskirts of the village, suspecting that the thieves might have been disturbed.
"They had already slaughtered the cow but didn't skin it. Besides that cow, we found two skins, offals, and hooves, with the thieves having made away with the meat. We suspect that they might have been disturbed by something not to skin the third cow," he said.
Zilawe revealed that this week they will hold meetings with farmers' committees in the area to plead with them to look after their cattle and keep them away from the road.
