A bonanza last Sunday in which Grahamstown residents were rushing to snap up sheep for as little as R100 each – sheep they’d been told had fallen off the back of a truck – has been followed by the arrest of four people by the Grahamstown Stock Theft Unit.
A bonanza last Sunday in which Grahamstown residents were rushing to snap up sheep for as little as R100 each – sheep they’d been told had fallen off the back of a truck – has been followed by the arrest of four people by the Grahamstown Stock Theft Unit.
And, in a twist, at least 62 sheep were stolen from a Grahamstown property last weekend, hours after Grocott's Mail interviewed a nearby farmer about stock theft in the area.
Commander of the Grahamstown Stock Theft Unit, Lieutenant-Colonel Funisile Phillips, dropped his weekend plans on Sunday 29 November, as reports came in that sheep, some dead, some alive, were being sold in Grahamstown for as little as R100.
Fully grown sheep usually sell for R1 000 – R1 500.
When Grocott’s Mail arrived at Mayfield on Sunday afternoon, police were searching properties in Extension 10 for sheep – dead or alive – that had been snapped up by residents.
Earlier, police had found a number of sheep in a bedroom at an old farmhouse in the area.
An enclosure next to the farmhouse serves as an overnight kraal for cattle owned by Grahamstown residents. The property is owned by Makana Municipality. One of the anxious owners had rushed to the scene.
“They told us in church the sheep had fallen off the back of a truck and were being sold for R150,” said the man who asked not to be named. “I was worried about my cattle. If they were selling sheep, maybe they were selling our cattle too,” he said.
Phillips said the farmer had already fetched those of his sheep recovered, including four carcasses.
While Grocott’s Mail was at the scene, a police officer drove up with a large cast-iron pot, in which there had been stowed cut-up parts of a sheep.
Only the day before, Grocott’s Mail had interviewed a neighbour of the farmer whose sheep were stolen about stock theft problems in the area. An unconfirmed estimate is that 28 ewes and 10 lambs were stolen.
Grahamstown Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said members of the stock theft unit seized six live sheep and four slaughtered carcasses on Sunday 29 November.
“Communities are urged to reject and report stolen property,” Govender said. “Receiving stolen property is a criminal offence.”
Phillips said his Unit was on high alert over the Christmas period.
“There are definitely people looking for opportunities,” he said.
Govender said four suspects aged between 28 and 40 were arrested by members of the Grahamstown Stock Theft Unit. The suspects were due to appear in court this week.
Makana Municipality spokesperson Yoliswa Ramokolo said they would investigate the allegation that stolen property had been recovered from their Mayfield property.
“Disciplinary measures will be taken if this is found to be true,” Ramokolo said.
