A 34-year-old man, Sipho Khosa, has been convicted and sentenced to 34 years in prison for two poaching incidents that occurred in 2016.
The Skukuza Regional Court handed down the sentence on Friday November 18.
A provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said in a statement that on September 27, 2016, an on-duty section ranger received information about two poachers who had been seen entering the Kruger National Park (KNP) through the Stolznek area.
“Other field rangers were immediately activated and a search began,” said Mohlala. He said two choppers were deployed. The men were discovered hiding in the thick bush.
The field rangers ordered the two intruders to come out from their hiding. They complied and were captured. They were found in possession of two rhino horns, a hunting rifle fitted with a silencer, a magazine loaded with 11 live ammunitions as well as two extra magazines, an axe and a backpack with food.
Mohlala said the police were called. The men were charged for the possession of an unlicensed hunting rifle, the illegal possession of ammunition and a dangerous weapon, trespassing into the KNP as well as for the killing of rhinos.
He said they were granted bail and less than three months later on December 4, 2016, field rangers working in the Stolznek area heard gunshots.
They alerted their section ranger to help them investigate. A chopper was also used to help in this incident. Khosa was among three men who were captured that day after trying to run and hide in the bush.
They were charged accordingly by the police, after being found in possession of a hunting rifle loaded with ammunition, a silencer, three rhino horns and an axe, a dangerous weapon.
They were also charged for trespassing in the KNP.
Mohlala said Khosa was the only one sentenced as his co-accused in the first incident never showed up in court after being granted bail.
In the second incident, the other two accused were also granted bail, but never set foot in court again.
Khosa was sentenced as follows:
Count one: trespassing, the accused was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
Count two: possession of a firearm with a silencer, he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Count three: possession of a firearm with a silencer, he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.
Count four: possession of a firearm with intention to commit crime, the accused was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Count five: possession of live ammunition without a permit/licence, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
Count six: the accused was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment on a count of possession of a dangerous weapon.
Count seven: He was further sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on a count of trespassing in the Kruger.
Count eight: he was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for the possession of a firearm with a silencer.
Count nine: the illegal killing of a rhino, he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Count 10: on another count of illegally killing a rhino, the accused was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment as well.
Count 11: on a separate count of conspiracy to commit an offence of illegal poaching inside the KNP, he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.
Count 12: possession of ammunition without a permit, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
The court ordered that count seven and one run concurrently.
Count three, four and five will also run concurrently. Count 12 and eight will also do so, as will count 11 and nine.
Khosa was slapped with 34 years behind bars. He was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, thanked the SANParks field rangers, the SAPS team of investigators, the prosecution team and the judiciary for their individual roles that they had played that resulted in the well-deserved sentence.
