Cross-border theft costs Zambezi over N$3 million in cattle
In her historic inauguration as the first-ever female governor of Zambezi, Governor Dorothy Mareka-Kabula, delivered an uncompromising review of escalating crime, border insecurity, and explosive hazards in her maiden State of the Region Address yesterday in Katima Mulilo.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, law enforcement recorded 184 stock-theft incidents, resulting in the loss of 614 cattle—valued at over N$3 million. Through joint operations with Zambian authorities, 299 heads (worth just over N$1 million) were recovered. However, 336 cattle—with a combined value exceeding N$2 million—remain missing.
“This border crimes prompted the need to register the concern with the Zambian authorities,” Governor Kabula said, emphasizing the gravity of the situation and the threat to border communities. She added: “We are confident that collaboration shall continue between the borderline regions to curb such activities and maintain peace.”
The governor further highlighted a new Memorandum of Understanding with Zambia’s Western Province Administration and Botswana’s Chobe District Council aimed at bolstering environmental protection, trade, infrastructure, and most critically, security and cross-border crime prevention.
Governor Kabula also disclosed that the regional police undertook 26 targeted operations, arresting 349 individuals for offenses ranging from murder and stock theft to illegal migration and smuggling.
“The law enforcement agencies... focused on the reinforcement of law and order, crime prevention and the protection of lives and property,” she said, attributing the region’s calm to sustained security interventions.
Equally alarming, the governor drew attention to the presence of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) from the liberation struggle, declaring they “remain a concern and pose danger to the inhabitants,” especially along the Namibia–Zambia borderline between Beacons 9 and 7. In response, the Explosive Control Subdivision executed de-bushing operations in the affected zones, with no reported injuries—yet Governor Kabula underscored that “ongoing vigilance” and funding are critical.
She concluded: “Without effective security measures in place, sustainable development is impossible... Security forms the foundation upon which economic growth, social stability and infrastructure progress are built.”
The governor called for intensified support—both national and bilateral—to ensure that burgeoning crime, cross-border theft, and latent UXO hazards do not derail the region’s progress.
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Between April 2024 and March 2025, law enforcement recorded 184 stock-theft incidents, resulting in the loss of 614 cattle—valued at over N$3 million. Through joint operations with Zambian authorities, 299 heads (worth just over N$1 million) were recovered. However, 336 cattle—with a combined value exceeding N$2 million—remain missing.
“This border crimes prompted the need to register the concern with the Zambian authorities,” Governor Kabula said, emphasizing the gravity of the situation and the threat to border communities. She added: “We are confident that collaboration shall continue between the borderline regions to curb such activities and maintain peace.”
The governor further highlighted a new Memorandum of Understanding with Zambia’s Western Province Administration and Botswana’s Chobe District Council aimed at bolstering environmental protection, trade, infrastructure, and most critically, security and cross-border crime prevention.
Governor Kabula also disclosed that the regional police undertook 26 targeted operations, arresting 349 individuals for offenses ranging from murder and stock theft to illegal migration and smuggling.
“The law enforcement agencies... focused on the reinforcement of law and order, crime prevention and the protection of lives and property,” she said, attributing the region’s calm to sustained security interventions.
Equally alarming, the governor drew attention to the presence of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) from the liberation struggle, declaring they “remain a concern and pose danger to the inhabitants,” especially along the Namibia–Zambia borderline between Beacons 9 and 7. In response, the Explosive Control Subdivision executed de-bushing operations in the affected zones, with no reported injuries—yet Governor Kabula underscored that “ongoing vigilance” and funding are critical.
She concluded: “Without effective security measures in place, sustainable development is impossible... Security forms the foundation upon which economic growth, social stability and infrastructure progress are built.”
The governor called for intensified support—both national and bilateral—to ensure that burgeoning crime, cross-border theft, and latent UXO hazards do not derail the region’s progress.
[email protected]
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