The operation in Siyathuthuka, said to have been executed by the Special Task Force, was to hunt for gang members and key role players. It took place on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Information from a source is that the operation was done in an attempt to disrupt gang activities to prevent another bloodbath over the coming weekend. This after eight people were hacked with pangas of which three succumbed to their wounds the past weekend.

Col. Donald Mdluli of the Provincial Communication Office confirmed that police are currently investigating three murders in Belfast that were committed on Saturday October 2.

A resident, who asked not to be named, alleged that the clashes are between two local gangs, the Tractor Gang and the Maboyeni Boys.

It has now been learned from a source that the gang wars are related to stock theft syndicates, fighting over money owed and areas to operate in. The area has been crippled with stock theft for several years.

The family of Brit expat Sue Howarth, who was shot and killed in her house on the farm Marchlands near Dullstroom, are adamant that her death also relates to stock theft after she dismissed a worker for stealing sheep shortly before her death.

The men currently on trial for her murder, Yika brothers Nkosinathi and William, were out on bail and attending court for a stock theft case when they were arrested in connection with her killing.

Cases of stock theft has seen a steady increase in Belfast with 35 cases reported in the second quarter of 2021.

In incidents where stock thieves have been arrested, it was established that meat travels as far as Nelspruit to be sold at informal butcheries.

There have been several news reports of how inhumane stock thieves pile cattle on top of each other on trailers and even in a panel van to transport them. Read up on them here:

Koeie wreed doodgetrap na veediewe hulle saam op waentjie druk

Skape versmoor tydens massa slagting

Recently, a farmer who went looking for his stolen cattle on a smallholding in Belfast, was met by a hail of bullets. The farmer escaped unscathed. Attempts by community members and other farmers to trap the shooters, failed, after they managed to disappear into a marshland next to a residential area.

A source in Belfast said that he has heard that several key gang members have fled to Dullstroom, Middelburg and even Gauteng to evade arrest after last week’s murder and the recent STT operation.