The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting the urgent establishment of a dedicated Eastern Cape Stock Theft and Cross Border Livestock Crime Task Team, saying organised syndicates and allegations of corruption within law enforcement are fuelling a crisis that is devastating rural communities.
In a letter dated 4 August, addressed to Ramaphosa and copied to Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia, the party called for a province-wide, multidisciplinary task team to tackle stock theft, livestock smuggling and alleged criminal networks operating across the Eastern Cape and neighbouring Lesotho.
African Times has seen the letter.
The request follows what the ATM described as recent engagements with communities, farmers, livestock owners, business formations and traditional leaders across the province.
According to the party, those consultations revealed widespread concerns about organised stock theft syndicates, cross-border livestock smuggling and allegations that some police officers, municipal officials, livestock traders and other influential individuals may be facilitating or protecting criminal networks.
ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona said the party believed the scale of stock theft required a coordinated national intervention.
“The Eastern Cape has become the epicentre of stock theft in South Africa. Rural communities are living in fear while organised syndicates continue to target livestock owners with little consequence. We have therefore written to President Ramaphosa requesting the urgent establishment of a dedicated Eastern Cape Provincial Stock Theft and Rural Crime Task Team to investigate organised syndicates, cross-border livestock crime and allegations of corruption that may be enabling these criminal networks,” Ntshona said.
He said livestock theft was no longer an isolated rural crime but a threat to livelihoods, food security and agricultural development.
According to the ATM, official South African Police Service statistics recorded about 1,482 stock theft cases in the Eastern Cape between January and March 2026. The party said this accounted for about 29% of all stock theft cases reported nationally during the period, making the province the country’s hardest hit.
The letter identifies several areas as stock theft hotspots.
According to the ATM, Bhityi recorded 111 reported cases during the first three months of the year, followed by Qumbu with 110, Tsolo with 94, Mthatha with 49 and Thina Falls with 45.
Other affected areas listed in the letter include Sulenkama, KwaBhaca, Nqanqarhu, Ntabankulu, Ngqamakhwe, Dutywa, Mqanduli, Ngcobo, Lusikisiki and Libode.
The party said police operations in the OR Tambo, Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi districts had resulted in significant livestock recoveries, demonstrating that theft often involved organised syndicates capable of moving large numbers of animals across municipal and district boundaries.
The ATM also pointed to figures from Sterkspruit, where 39 stock theft cases were recorded during the 2025/26 financial year, compared with 61 cases during the previous year.
However, the party argued that the apparent decline should not automatically be interpreted as a reduction in crime.
It said many livestock owners had told the party they no longer reported theft because they believed police investigations rarely produced results.
According to the letter, reasons given by community members included the long distance to police stations, previous unsuccessful investigations, fear of retaliation, slow police response times and perceptions that some local police structures had been compromised.
The ATM said communities had raised allegations that certain police officers warned suspects about planned police operations, disclosed information to criminal networks, delayed the registration of cases, interfered with investigations, mishandled evidence or discouraged complainants from pursuing criminal matters.
The party stressed that these allegations should be independently investigated.
It also argued that official crime statistics might significantly understate the true extent of stock theft because many incidents were allegedly never formally reported or registered.
The ATM has proposed that an independent task team should examine registered cases together with unreported incidents, withdrawn dockets, closed investigations and complaints that were never officially recorded.
The party also highlighted concerns about cross-border livestock smuggling into Lesotho.
According to the letter, the geographical location of farming communities in the Joe Gqabi District creates opportunities for syndicates to move stolen cattle, sheep, goats and horses through mountainous and poorly monitored border routes.
The ATM said livestock allegedly smuggled across the border could be rebranded, slaughtered, sold through informal markets or later returned to South Africa using altered identification and fraudulent documentation.
It also warned that illegally transported livestock posed potential animal health risks because animals could be moved without veterinary inspections, movement permits or disease control measures.
The party said the proposed task team should operate along similar lines to the former Political Killings Task Team, bringing together independently vetted investigators, Crime Intelligence, the Hawks, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Border Management Authority, the South African National Defence Force, veterinary services, agricultural authorities and relevant Lesotho authorities.
It proposed that the structure should be able to take over serious investigations, reopen closed dockets, conduct intelligence-led operations and investigate the full livestock theft network, including any police officers or municipal officials allegedly protecting syndicates.
Among its recommendations, the ATM called for strengthened roadblocks and livestock inspections, investigations into auction facilities, butcheries, transporters and fraudulent documentation, confidential reporting mechanisms for affected communities and regular progress reports to both the Presidency and Parliament.
The party said any credible allegations against police officers should be referred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, while matters involving organised crime, corruption, money laundering and cross-border smuggling should be investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks.
In its letter, the ATM said livestock represented far more than property for many rural households.
“Stock theft is not simply a property crime. Livestock pays school fees, sustains households, supports traditional ceremonies, creates employment and serves as a store of wealth for many rural families. When animals are stolen, families may lose the product of decades of work in a single night,” the party said.
The ATM said it would facilitate the confidential submission of statements and supporting records collected during its community engagements to assist any future investigation.
