Knee poaching gives residents sleepless nights

WHITE RIVER – A new type of crime has reared its ugly head in this region,
whereby knee poaching has become the name of the game.
This has shifted the
focus on rhino poaching which has hit the country for the past few
years.
It’s been alleged that the poachers make an incision above the knee,
extract the fluid inside the knee cap and export it to China. Allegedly that
fluid is used to cure cancer. As a result, communities are living in fear for
the alleged knee poachers.
Speculation is rife within the district of Nkomazi
Local Municipality such as Mzinti, Mgobodzi and Goba, but recently it has spread to Mashonamini and areas surrounding Hazyview.
Speaking to Mpumalanga News,
Mr Given Lekhuleni of Amazing Grace in Malalane, an organisation that tackles
issues such as child trafficking, has sent out a staunch warning to the people,
especially the youth who hitchhike.
“We heard about the rumours, but so far
there’s no proof since human trafficking is still a challenge in the country.

“We would like to warn citizens, especially women because they like to get
lifts from strangers, they can easily become victims,” he said.
This paper
has learnt that two months ago, a man was allegedly found dead close to a road
near Masoyi, with both legs removed. It is suspected by the local community that
this might be related to the knee poaching. Another victim was discovered in
Casteel with one leg also allegedly cut off above the knee.
The
communications officer of White River Police Station, WO Gugu Phiri confirmed
the incident, but couldn’t verify that the case was linked to knee
poaching.
“It’s true that we found a body of a man with his leg cut off, but
we can’t say much on this matter because we are still waiting for the
post-mortem results, which will indicate clearly what happened. No one has been
arrested but the investigation continues,” she said.
During the handing over
of school uniforms to needy learners at Ben Matloshe High School in
Bushbuckridge, MEC for safety, security and community liaison,
Mr Vusi
Shongwe indicated that he had received several complaints from residents of
Nkomazi regarding this incidence.
“We have received a tip-off that there was
an element of crime in existence. There are people who are cutting other
people’s legs off. It is alleged that they want a certain fluid in the round
part of a knee. They said they made more money because it was worth more than a
rhino horn.
“I’d like to alert our people to be careful about such a
practice. We are going to sit down as a department and find ways of addressing
this issue before it gets worse. We are not sitting with folded hands, and as we
speak, the provincial commissioner,
Gen Thulani Ntobela has deployed his
deputy Maj General Phaahla to Tonga as it has been discovered that that the
crime is rife that side,” he explained.