Sheep seen crossing a main road in Juba. | Courtesy.

Four men accused of selling stolen cattle to butchers, escaped police arrest on the weekend after they were intercepted at Juba bridge driving animals supposedly to a slaughterhouse in Gudele.

John Mabior, the Secretary-General of the South Sudan Butchers Union said two of the cattle rustlers fled and left the animals behind after police officers manning a checkpoint interrogated them at the bridge.

On the next day, other two culprits escaped in the same manner and abandoned stolen goats in the hands of the police.

“When they were stopped by the police, they claimed ownership of the goats, and when the policemen told them they had to go to the office to prove that, they fled, leaving the Goads behind,” he said.

Mabior said they have taken notice of the theft practices after growing complains from cattle owners about disappearing livestock.

“We always heard from the residents that their cattle and goats are being finished by butchers. But in the actual sense, it is not the butchers who did that but the criminals,” he said.

He said the goats owners have long suspected the butchers of stealing the animals.

He said the butchers reported the thieves to the police who then increased vigilance against the practice.

Mabior said the slaughterhouse will not accept any livestock without proper documents showing ownership.

“We are not going to allow anyone to move with cows or goats around Juba or bring to the slaughterhouse without documents.”

The official also urges households who lost their livestock to report to the union office in Gumbo to identify their missing animals.