admincompared to the same period last year.
Police National Co-ordinator Anti-stock Theft Unit Assistant Commissioner Bernard Dumbura, yesterday said since the unit was formed, statistics indicate that stock theft was taking a downward trend.
“Evidence on the ground indicate that anti-stock theft operations and activities scored notable achievements by recording decreases in the number of cattle stolen in 2010 as compared to 2009,” he said.
Asst Comm Dumbura was addressing policemen and women who were attending a two-day Stock Theft Investigators Workshop in Harare. He said the number of cattle stolen in 2009 decreased from 17 229 to 14 882 last year, a 14 percent decrease.
“Out of the total number of cattle stolen, 4 952 herd of cattle was recovered giving recovery rate of 33 percent,” Asst Comm Dumbura said.
He said the force had crafted and implemented various strategies to deal with stock theft and one of the most effective strategies being implemented was the Cattle Branding/Muchiso Pamombe/Uphawu Enkomeni Campaign that was launched by Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri on March 23 this year. Asst Comm Dumbura said since the launch of this campaign, 96 019 people were reached countrywide and 9 500 brand certificates were processed by the Registrar General’s Office.
He said the unit would continue to involve all stakeholders during the implementation period where they expect the branding of cattle in both commercial and communal farms.
“The protection of our livestock is not optional,” Asst Comm Dumbura said.
He said it was beyond doubt that stock theft investigators were an indispensable cog in the management of the crime of stock theft.
Bongani Ndlovu