South Africa’s Deputy President sells Ankole bull at Shs17 million

The story of cows costing a fortune is old, with the children of Israel giving us the benefit of a golden calf-which easily became a deity.

Now, our very own, an Ankole bull, owned by South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa went for R64,000 (about Shs17 million) in an auction a few months ago.

Farmer’s Weekly, a South African website, reported Mr Ramaphosa’s auction, explaining his troubles with getting the Ankole breed bull.

First was the lasting impression he got when he visited Uganda, and saw the cow treasured and admired by many, including President Yoweri Museveni – for its lean meat, free from dangerous fats.

Its gigantic look, too, makes it the symbol of African resistance and courage-traits which probably got Mr Ramaphosa thinking.

South African authorities, however, turned down his request to put the animal on a flight to South Africa, fearing that the animal’s health wasn’t guaranteed, lest it would carry with itself diseases that could infect others.

Mr Ramaphosa never gave up, enlisting the support of Dr Morné de La Rey, a veterinary surgeon and embryo transfer specialist, who travelled to Uganda and took embryos to South Africa breeding and the politicians finally had his Ankole bull.

When time came for auctioning, the Ankole bull prevailed, reigning supreme over several local breeds going for Shs17 million at the auction.

According to the website, the Ankole breed is also popular with game farmers, who buy the bulls for hunting and use the horns as trophies. The hunting bulls are sold for between R15 000 and R50 000 (about Shs4 million to Shs13 million) , depending on the size of their horns.

In Uganda, the average price of an Ankole bull is between Shs1 million and Shs1.5 million.

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