SKUKUZA – Journalists of various media houses were impressed to see eight alleged rhino poachers, who had been arrested in the Malalane section of the Kruger National Park early Wednesday morning, brought to Skukuza SAPS station. Seven were put in the holding cells, while one that was shot after he attempted to ran away, was transported with an ambulance to hospital. They appeared in the Magistrate’s Court later that day.
They were apprehended near the Crocodile River. A firearm and ammunition, an axe, a panga and knives were confiscated.
The previous day members of the environmental-crimes investigation unit did forensic assessments on the carcass of a black rhino in the area.
Sgt Silence Ndluli said the carcass was that of a young rhino. “We retrieved a .458 bullet and case and it looks like the rhino was shot in the heart,” he added.
Most of the cases in Skukuza’s circuit court involve rhino poaching.
It only sits on Wednesdays and Adv Ansie Venter and Adv Isabet Erwee mainly prosecute these cases.
Venter told Lowvelder that she achieved a 100 per cent conviction rate in poaching cases, 27 convictions in total.
On Wednesday there were nine cases on the roll, which included the bail applications of five alleged poachers. They were suspected to have been involved in an incident which took place on July 13 in the Stoltznek area near Pretoriuskop Rest Camp. The family of one of the accused were ready to pay for his bail.
Three of the accused face charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and illegal ammunition, as well as trespassing, intention to commit a crime, theft and illegal hunting, while two of the accused would only face a charge of conspiracy to commit a crime. The suspects are Mr Nthlokosisi Ndimane (24), Mr Wozayo Maluka (28) and Mr Joseph Chikane (52), who are South Africans and Mr Bennodito Fernando Tovella (24) and Mr Timotheo Jachua Sitoie (24), from Mozambique.
Magistrate Ms Winnie Baloyi, was ill and magistrate Mr NS Masango postponed all nine cases on the roll for the day.
