The Giyani Regional Court on Friday sentenced two Mozambican nationals to direct imprisonment for stock theft and related offences committed in December 2023.
Mr. Robert Chauke (33) and Mr. Silver Ndlovu (49) were convicted on four counts: stock theft, cruelty to animals, slaughtering an animal at a place other than an abattoir, and contravention of the Immigration Act.
The court heard that on 22 December 2023, SAPS Giyani members, acting on a tip-off during a routine patrol, discovered the suspects actively slaughtering animals near a dumping site in Giyani Section A. The men were arrested immediately.
Following information provided by the accused at the scene, police recovered additional slaughtered meat stored at a local butchery in the same area. The butchery owner and two employees were arrested after failing to provide a satisfactory account of the meat’s origin, bringing the total arrests to five.
The investigation was initially handled by the late Warrant Officer Masenyani Nature Ngobeni and later reassigned to the Provincial Stock Theft and Endangered Species (STES) Commander, Colonel Jabu Elizabeth Mbete.
During bail hearings, the butchery owner and employees were released on bail. Chauke and Ndlovu were denied bail due to their undocumented status. Both later pleaded guilty to all charges.
The court handed down the following sentences to each convict:
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Count 1 (Stock Theft): 10 years’ imprisonment
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Count 2 (Cruelty to Animals): Six months’ imprisonment
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Count 3 (Illegal Slaughtering): One year’s imprisonment
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Count 4 (Immigration Act Contravention): Two years’ imprisonment
The sentences will run concurrently, resulting in an effective 13-year prison term for each man.
The three remaining suspects, including the butchery owner, are scheduled to reappear in the Giyani Magistrate’s Court on 11 March 2026.