SANDF matter of abuse of horses: Private Prosecution Unit lays complaint against sluggish investigating officers

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has lodged a service complaint with Lt. Gen. S.J. Kwena, the Provincial Police Commissioner in the North-West, against two senior detectives due to the perceived lack of progress with an investigation. These detectives are the police officers that have appointed to oversee and conclude investigations in the matter of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) allegedly abusing and neglecting  their horses. The Private Prosecution Unit act on behalf of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (NSPCA) in this matter.

The NSPCA already opened cases of animal abuse against the SANDF’s Specialists Infantry Capability in May 2018 because horses were allegedly being neglected and starved at the army terrain outside Potchefstroom.

According to the NSPCA the neglect was of such a serious nature that some of the horses had to eat their own faeces and soil. 25 horses also had to be euthanised due to the emaciated condition they were in.

According to Andrew Leask, Chief Investigator at AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, AfriForum shares the NSPCA’s frustration with the lacklustre approach to the investigation. “It seems that the investigating officers are inexplicably dragging their feet with this investigation. The only inference that can be drawn is that the SAPS is either inept or being influenced to drop the case. We form the ineluctable conclusion that the proverbial tail is wagging the dog and that the SANDF and the suspects (instead of the police) are directing the pace of the investigation.”

Despite four years already having elapsed since the filing of the charges of animal abuse, and the fact that the NSPCA compiled comprehensive case dockets and provided it to the police for further investigation, it seems that there has not been any progress with the investigation yet. Furthermore, despite many requests for feedback, the detective management from SAPS are also refusing to respond or provide any feedback on the matter to AfriForum or the NSPCA.