- – Govt to engage security counterparts in Zambia, Angola, and Namibia to dismantle the armed syndicates
- – Aims to reinforce bilateral ties with neighbouring countries to establish synchronised border patrols and intelligence-sharing networks
- – Of the 411 stolen cattle over the past few years, law enforcement managed to recover only 95
- – Community members live in constant fear of ‘aggressive and heavily armed rustlers’
The Botswana government has pledged immediate regional diplomatic and security interventions to combat cross-border stock theft in the Okavango region, following direct pleas from terrorised local farmers and alarming new crime figures.
Speaking at a highly charged kgotla meeting in Seronga village, Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Moeti Mohwasa, assured residents that the state would engage security counterparts in Zambia, Angola, and Namibia to dismantle the armed syndicates threatening local livelihoods.
The ministerial directive addresses a sharp rise in violent livestock rustling, which has forced several farmers to abandon their lands out of fear for their lives. Local communities describe the rustlers as highly aggressive and heavily armed, posing a severe national security threat that extends far beyond simple property theft.
Providing grim context to the crisis, Deputy Commissioner of Botswana Police Service (Operations), Katlholo Mosimanegape, revealed that a staggering 411 cattle have been reported stolen over the past few years. Out of these, law enforcement has managed to recover only 95 cattle, leaving a massive 316 cattle still missing.
Official police tracking data highlights how rapidly the threat has escalated. In 2022, 3 stock theft cases were reported involving 88 cattle, followed by 4 cases involving 72 cattle in 2023, and a slight dip to 2 cases involving 23 cattle in 2024. The situation worsened drastically in 2025 when 9 stock theft cases skyrocketed to involve 167 cattle. The crisis has continued at a rapid pace into this year, with 4 cases involving 61 cattle already logged.
During the tense community meeting, residents detailed the psychological and financial toll of this ongoing security crisis. Seronga Village Development Committee (VDC) representative, Ketshwenyegile Ntshosang, revealed that community members now live in constant fear, struggling to perform basic daily tasks like fetching water from the nearby river. Ntshosang noted that brazen thieves are now raiding livestock directly from family kraals, bypassing traditional bush grazing areas entirely. To counter this, he urged the government to deploy surveillance drones to spot criminals hiding in the dense Okavango terrain. Another local farmer, Maano Kanjeje, proposed clearing the thick vegetation along the international border fence to improve visibility and expose illegal crossing points used by the syndicates.
In response to these escalating anxieties, Minister Mohwasa declared that citizens should not live in terror when the state bears the constitutional mandate to protect them. He drew parallels to successful joint operations in Matsiloje, Morolong, and the Bobirwa district, promising that the same decisive strategies would be replicated in the Okavango. The government aims to reinforce bilateral ties with neighboring countries to establish synchronized border patrols and intelligence-sharing networks.
Mosimanegape reported that these early government interventions and cross-border diplomatic cooperation have already yielded critical breakthroughs. In Namibia, a total of 56 cattle were recovered between March 9 and April 28 this year, with 46 successfully returned to their rightful owners while the owners of the remaining 10 cattle are yet to be identified. Meanwhile in Zambia, 12 stolen cattle were recovered and all of them were successfully returned to their owners.
Backing the ministerial pledge, Deputy Commissioner Mosimanegape urged the public to log every single livestock theft incident at local stations. Mosimanegape emphasized that accurate crime data is crucial for tracking criminal patterns, allocating specialised security personnel, and executing targeted operations. By combining community vigilance, modern technology, and high-level regional diplomacy, the government intends to permanently secure the Okavango border and restore peace to the region’s agricultural community.
