Cattle syndicate exposé starts

SEVEN men have been arrested in the Otjozondjupa Region during February, for alleged participation in a stock theft syndicate that may have been operating for some time.

According to an Otjiwarongo Police spokesperson, two of the men were released shortly after their arrest when they agreed to assist the Stock Theft Unit in the police with the investigation. The five remaining men are in custody.Although hundreds of cattle have been reported missing by farmers from the Okahandja, Kalkfeld, Mount Etjo and Otjiwarongo areas, the Stock Theft Unit of the police have successfully located 74 of them. Investigations continue and are particularly focused on apprehending the masterminds behind the operations and the main buyers of the stolen cattle.Three of the men currently in custody, Joseph Hijarunguru, Lazarus Nganjowe Kapwitoota and Shaun Tjiute, are suspected to be part of the organisation’s top echelons. Some of the missing cattle were allegedly found on the farm of Hijarunguru near Grootfontein, Farm Okamahundju, and police suspect that much of the re-branding of the cattle was done on his farms.Locals say is Hijarunguru is ‘one of the richest men in the area.’ According to a local in Otjiwarongo, the stock theft operation has been ongoing for years and has become a ‘well-oiled machine.’ At the heart of the operation are sophisticated mechanisms in place for abusing the permit system in order to sell the stolen cattle. Furthermore, cattle are re-branded and ear-tags are switched and there are suspicions that officials are involved and bribed to facilitate some of the illegal operations.Locals also suspect that the operations are not confined within Namibia, and that many of the stolen cattle are sent to South African abattoirs.Police spokesperson Sergeant Marina Mueshifilua said last week that the police are continuing their investigations, and are close to making further arrests in the case. The Stock Theft Unit branched out their investigations to the Kamanjab area yesterday. Several farms in the Grootfontein area, including those belonging to Joseph Hijarunguru and Seef Oosthuizen, were closed by the Grootfontein Veterinarian Units last week, pending further investigations, the police confirmed this week.To date, the police have managed to confiscate stolen cattle from a truck which was on its way to Hijarunguru’s farm via Okakarara. More cattle were traced via an Agra auction, where unsuspecting buyers, including farmers and Meatco, bought stolen cattle.According to Mueshifilua, more than 80 cattle were stolen from a farmer in the Kalkrand area, a further 32 from an Okahandja farmer and 12 pregnant cows from a Mount Etjo farmer.The three alleged masterminds in custody, and two others still apprehended, Victor Amauta and Stefanus Mwandingi, will appear in the Okahandja magistrate’s court tomorrow. The five suspects are also scheduled to appear in the Otjiwarongo magistrate’s court on March 30.