At least 350 cattle have been rustled from Botswana's northwestern border villages in the Okavango District to Zambia through Namibia between 2022 and 2025, as cross-border criminal activities continue to rise.

Botswana's Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Moeti Mohwasa, recently told the neighbouring country's parliament that the perpetrators of the cross-border criminal activities are a combination of locals and nationals from neighbouring countries in Namibia and Zambia.

According to Mohwasa, only 83 of the stolen 350 cattle have since been recovered in Zambia.

"The intelligence and the arrests indicate that foreign nationals are mostly responsible for this cross-border cattle rustling. A total of 83 stolen cattle were recovered in Zambia. 82 of the cattle were identified by their owners, eventually auctioning them in Zambia after the completion of their cases, while the remaining one is still kraaled at Omega 1 Police Station in Zambia awaiting identification by the owner."

Mohwasa said nine suspects have been arrested in connection with the recovered cattle, with eight of them having been prosecuted and found guilty, while one was not indicted due to insufficient evidence.

To ensure the security of the country and resources like cattle, the southern African country has vowed to intensify Botswana/Namibia border patrols conducted by members of the Botswana Police Service and Botswana Defence Force.