Four missing after tracing stolen cattle into Angola

Four men have been reported missing for three days after crossing into Angola in pursuit of suspected stock thieves who allegedly drove 13 stolen cattle across the border from Diyogha village in Kavango East over the weekend.

Cattle owner Boniface Mukwathi believes the family is being deliberately targeted, following a near-identical incident in May last year in which the same household lost 81 cattle under similar circumstances.

“From my perspective, this is targeted," he said. "Why should it happen twice to the same family under similar circumstances?”

The theft was discovered on Sunday night when a herder rounded up the herd and noticed 13 cattle were missing. Believing the animals had strayed he returned the rest to the kraal and planned to search the following morning.

On Monday, the search revealed footprints believed to belong to four individuals who had driven the cattle away.

The herder followed the trail about six to seven kilometres towards a gravel road leading to the Angolan border before turning back, fearing for his safety.

"He was scared to continue alone, so he came back and informed us," Mukwathi said.

Mukwathi then instructed his brother and three other men to continue tracking the livestock. They have not returned.

"We are trying to reach them, but their phones are not going through," he told Namibian Sun.

Not just ‘bad luck’

The incident has revived painful memories of the May 2025 theft, in which community members reportedly followed suspects' tracks into Angola in an attempt to recover the animals.

“We are convinced this is not just bad luck. It is difficult to ignore the similarities between the two incidents,” he said.

Police crime investigations coordinator for the Kavango East region, Deputy Commissioner Bonifatius Kanyetu, confirmed that a stock theft case has been opened.

He said police are working with their Angolan counterparts to trace the stolen cattle and investigate the circumstances surrounding the case.

Kanyetu also urged farmers to exercise caution when hiring cattle herders from across the border, alleging that some may be working in collaboration with cross-border stock theft syndicates.