Woman sentenced for rhino poaching after co-accused sentenced in 2021

Thembi Juliegirl Mangane (37) has finally been sentenced for rhino poaching after two of her accomplices pleaded guilty and were sentenced almost two years ago in 2021.

Mangane on the other hand opted for a trial instead, which she failed to win. She was sentenced by the Skukuza Regional Court on March 17 to a total of 16 years behind bars. This sentence has been welcomed by the Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi.

The accused’s sentence emanates from a rhino poaching incident that took place on April 18, 2019. It is said on that day, rhino poachers entered the Kruger National Park through the Crocodile Bridge section and killed a rhino and removed its horns.

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Two suspects possibly managed to flee without being caught, however, after members of the police were alerted about the incident, a lookout for the suspects immediately commenced. It did not take long for the members to identify their suspects thanks to information provided by the intelligence structure of the police in the province.

The men and women in blue discovered that the accused was part of the orchestrated plan to collect and transport the suspects as they came out of the Kruger National Park once they were finished with their mission.

The accused was the driver and the car that was used by the poachers was identified and eventually stopped. A search was conducted and a rifle as well as the two rhino horns, a saw and other items were found inside the vehicle.

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The three suspects were arrested in relation to this incident and charged accordingly. They appeared in court where two, identified as Matsinye Joao Sithole and Vasco Tibane pleaded guilty. They were sentenced on June 24, 2021 to an effective 22 years’ imprisonment.

Due to the fact that Mangane did not plead guilty, her matter was postponed, but after a trial, she was sentenced as follows:

Count 1: Restricted activity involving a threatened or protected species – white rhinoceros. The accused was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Count 2: Possession of a prohibited firearm. The accused was sentenced to six’ years imprisonment.
Count 3: Possession of an unlicensed ammunition. The accused was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
Count 4: Possession of a dangerous weapon. The accused was sentenced to 1one year imprisonment.
Count 5: Conspiracy to commit a crime. The accused was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

The court ordered that the sentence in count five runs concurrently with the sentence in count one. The sentence in count three and four will run concurrently with the sentence in count two. The effective sentence for the accused will, therefore, be 16 years’ imprisonment.

The accused was further declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Section 103 of Act 60 of 2000.