A spree of livestock thefts in the eastern Free State has left farmers disheartened but the recent arrest of two alleged thieves has given them hope that the situation may change.
Two suspects, a 42-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, were apprehended in Villiers at about 6am on Saturday with 21 sheep carcasses in a vehicle. The sheep were allegedly stolen from a farm near Reitz.
A farmer who prefers to remain anonymous out of fear of being “the next target” says the woman is well-known in the area and has caused trouble in the past.
The police had a warrant for the woman’s arrest after she failed to appear in the Vrede magistrate’s court for another livestock theft case last year, says Sgt Sinah Mpakane, a police spokesperson.
According to him, the vehicle in which the two were travelling has been identified as one that may have been involved in other livestock thefts. The suspects were identified by a private security company which called the police.
The woman is also accused of stealing a calf in Frankfort on January 17.
The two suspects allegedly stole 747 sheep on December 23 in Roadside, about 38 km from Vrede. The police recovered 745 animals loaded in a truck. The other two were not found and were allegedly loaded into the woman’s vehicle.
Disheartened but resilient
The farmer, who farms with sheep outside Frankfort, says the area is regularly targeted by livestock thieves. “Farmers are disheartened – things sometimes go wild,” he says.
About three months ago, with the cooperation of a private company and the police, farmers helped to catch an alleged livestock thief believed to be responsible for a spree of incidents in Villiers.
“He had the area in his sights. Then we intensified our patrols and finally apprehended the person,” says the farmer.
The woman allegedly travelled regularly from Johannesburg and stole livestock on farms near Frankfort and Petrus Steyn.
“Now that she has been arrested we hope things will calm down. We will have to wait and see,” says the farmer.
