Three men appeared in the Dannhauser Magistrate’s Court on Monday, October 30 facing charges of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, after they maliciously attacked two men believed to be involved with stock theft.
The two men, aged 27 and 17 years old respectively, were allegedly attacked by the three suspects as well as members of the community on October 25, after they were accused of stealing live stock in the Hilldrop area in Dannhauser.
“The first victim was assaulted with sjamboks at around 7pm. He was later transported to hospital in a critical condition. The second suspect was assaulted a short while later, and he too needed urgent medical treatment,” said Seargent M. Nyembe of the Dannhauser SAPS Corporate Communications Department.
The attacks came after seven cattle were stolen from a Nellyvalley Farm in Dannhauser on October 17.
Sgt. Nyembe alleged the cattle were left unattended to graze in a campsite.
“The cattle were dropped off at the campsite and left there. When the owner went back that afternoon, the cattle were nowhere to be found. This is not the first time where cattle are being left at the grazing camp without someone looking after them,” said Nyembe.
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Nyembe stated the areas which were most affected and targeted were Nellyvalley, Annieville, Thirst Farm, Springbok and Mbabane. He also said these areas were targeted due to livestock owners not hiring shepherds to look after their cattle.
“Sometimes the cattle are not even collected at night. The owners just expect the cattle will return home by themselves!”
Nyembe appealed to all livestock owners to take care of their cattle or to hire a shepherd if they could not supervise their cattle themselves.
“The criminals, especially during the festive season, are targeting the unsupervised cattle.”
The three vigilante suspects were each granted R1 000 bail, and will re appear in court soon.
Nyembe said he condemned members of the community who took the law into their own hands.
“By taking the law into their own hands, they are then involved in criminal activities themselves. Yes indeed, the community can assist the police to catch criminals, but not to punish them,” Sgt Nyembe concluded.
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