Young foals and old donkeys are destined for the donkey skin trade, which first emerged in South Africa 2016. Photo: iStock
The sight of a donkey is almost always an indication of a crime about to be committed, say residents of Campbell, a small township in Musina, Limpopo.
Campbell, the first town from the Beitbridge border post, has been plagued by criminal activity and a lack of service delivery.
Former councillor and community leader Sewani Kaunda has been at the forefront of fighting crime and shared the plight of residents with The Citizen.
“In Musina we do not have donkeys but, if you see one, we know they are Zimbabwean smugglers and that a crime is about to be committed,” he said.
“They are the ones used for loading stolen cars to Zimbabwe via the Limpopo River. They are the ones used to cross with illegal cigarettes.
If you see a donkey, just know it belongs to criminals.” Campbell residents also grapple with the lack of basic service delivery.
Driving around the area, residents could be seen rushing to collect water using wheelbarrows, buckets and cans.
This is despite the area having three reservoirs. Just meters from their homes is a sign near the Musina Mall showing the direction to an airport, promising a different sight.
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However, for at least 3km to the airport was a gravel road with no sign of life except for a place used for illegal dumping, with cows grazing overgrown grass.
Near the airstrip was a burnt Mercedes Benz with all the doors open. Kaunda said the airstrip used to belong to Messina Transvaal Development Mine which was abandoned in 1992 and it was allegedly being used by criminals, with some using it to fly in illegal cigarettes and drugs.
Kaunda said senior government and military officials used the same dilapidated airstrip when they visited the area.
“Even the president himself uses this airport. You will only see military cars and VIP cars coming from the side of that airport, then you know they are here.”
Kaunda claimed many people benefit from illicit cigarettes, including senior government officials. “I worked at the border for 15 years until 2010, these cigarette issues have been long-standing.
They would detain trucks full of illicit cigarettes but the trucks just disappeared. “This means there’s a connection with the big shots.”
Kaunda said he had serious concerns about illegal immigrants and the government did not seem to care. “Just this week, a child was shot in the leg by an illegal immigrant and his leg had to be amputated.
They steal livestock and it’s smuggled to Zimbabwe … that is our reality,” he claimed. However, Kaunda’s views were not shared by every resident.
Musina resident Gladys Mukwevho said there were some good Zimbabweans, “but there are those who are just really messing up our country in ways they could never imagine doing in Zimbabwe”. Millicent Chauke said she did not have problems with those who come to do honest work. But she claimed there were some Zimbabweans who caused chaos.
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