Thousands of livestock, the lifeblood of rural families across the Eastern Cape, are stolen every year by organised criminal syndicates, leaving farmers devastated and communities fearful.
For many households, livestock are more than property. They represent food, income and dignity.
Yet in villages across the province, thieves strike under cover of darkness, raiding kraals and vanishing before dawn, often armed and unchallenged.
The effect is devastating. Families lose their savings and safety nets, and many give up on farming altogether.
In the former Transkei, particularly around Qumbu and Tsolo, the problem has become so severe that some farmers are abandoning what was once their main livelihood.
OR Tambo Farmers’ Association chair Mlungisi Ndobeni said the situation had spiralled out of control.
“Things are worse. We no longer call it stock theft, it’s stock armed robbery.
“They take it from our kraal in our presence. Once you report, you end up being a victim.
“We report cases but we have lost hope. You find that these people are well-connected.
“Some people are giving up on livestock farming because of the situation we are in, where you may end up losing your life.
“We have lost some farmers as well. It’s clear there’s a market for this.”
Ndobeni said farmers had formed associations and working groups to try to co-ordinate responses, but with limited results.
“We have done everything possible to protect our livestock, but these criminals are more organised than us,” he said.
In response to the ongoing crisis, some rural residents have begun experimenting with technology to improve safety.
Among them is Mthatha-based security company owner Zukisani Nohaji, who has introduced a camera-based system that allows farmers to monitor their kraals in real time.
The system uses solar-powered CCTV cameras linked to cellphones, allowing farmers to record and store footage of incidents.
Nohaji said the technology was designed to help bridge the gap between rural communities and law enforcement.
“These people are armed and come driving cars and tell the farmers if they want they can come outside but they are taking the livestock.
“The system helps to capture everything in detail,” he said.
He said farmers often struggled with network issues in remote areas, so the system was developed to work with both Wi-Fi and mobile data.
Around two dozen farmers have already installed it, and in a few cases, video evidence has helped police investigations.
“For someone to have livestock one particular night and wake up with their kraal empty the next morning is a sad thing,” Nohaji said.
Farmers say they need proper policing and better intelligence-sharing between communities and the police, and specialised rural safety units focused on livestock theft.
Ndobeni said that without stronger intervention, the province risked losing a vital part of its economy and culture.
“For someone to lose everything overnight and know nothing will happen to those responsible, that’s what breaks people,” he said.
Daily Dispatch
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