This was confirmed in a Constitutional Court order issued on Monday. It denied Engelbrecht leave to appeal previous court orders declaring her decision to move cases from Skukuza’s specialist anti-poaching court to Mhala in 2019, invalid.
According to the order, her proposed appeal “bears no reasonable prospect of success”. The controversial decision was abruptly announced in 2017 and met with great opposition from a wide variety of anti-poaching role players.
Mpumalanga’s High Court Judge President, Francis Legodi, opposed it, as did the National Director of Public Prosecution. Yet, Engelbrecht proceeded to move its poaching cases to the Thulamahashe-based Mhala court less than two years later.
ALSO READ: Robbery at post office at Village Centre in Mbombela
The state successfully challenged her decision in the North Gauteng High Court. Her subsequent appeals failed. Lowvelder will obtain comments from the National Prosecuting Authority, role players in conservation and seek comment from Engelbrecht herself for purposes of follow-up reporting.
