Kotze in jail following stock theft
A stock thief who was apprehended after he skipped bail, was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
The Thabazimbi Magistrate’s Court convicted Arno Kotze (52) on Monday 11 December.
Kotze was accused of stealing 13 Bonsmara cattle from Belgie Farm in Dwaalboom in June 2022. He was the farm manager at the time. According to the police, one of the other employees alerted the owner that there was a truck with loaded livestock.
During the investigation, it was found that the accused sold the cattle to the Vleissentraal Auction at Dwaalboom for a value of R130 000 and the money was deposited into his account. Kotze was arrested in January last year and granted bail. He, however, disappeared and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
The investigating officer, WO Amanda Rossouw of the stock theft unit, made contact with him and warned him to hand himself over. When he did not adhere to the request, he was located through detective work and re-arrested in Groot Marico in North West on Friday, 24 November.
He remained in custody until his court appearance.
According to the police, he was once again working for a farmer as a farm manager at the time of his arrest.
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lt Genl Thembi Hadebe, has welcomed the sentence and praised WO Amanda Rossouw and her team for their tireless efforts.
