Rhino poacher caught twice gets 25 years behind bars

A rhino poacher who had twice been arrested for hunting illegaly inside the Kruger National Park (KNP) has been handed a hefty jail sentence. 

40-year-old Mike Nyathi, a Mozambican national with South African citizenship, was sentenced in the Skukuza Regional Court on Friday, police confirmed. 

Nyathi and accomplice Janeiro Chuguane were first caught in the park’s Kingfisherspruit section on 17 September 2017, where they shot and and killed a white rhino. 

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Rangers went to investigate after hearing gunshots and found the men in possession of a rifle without serial numbers, ammunition, an axe and a knife. 

The carcass of the rhino was found near the men, who were then apprehended and charged with trespassing, possession of prohibited firearms, possessions of an unlincenced firearm and ammunition, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of a dangerous weapon and hunting of protected animals in a national park. 

After appearing in court, Nyathi and Chuguane were granted bail.

Chuguane fled to Mozambique shortly after, and is still at large. 

In May 2019, Nyathi was found poaching rhino again, this time in the KNP’s Satara section. Rangers and a tracker dog found Nyathi, who was hiding under a fallen tree.

A bolt action rifle and ammunition was found on him. He was charged and appeared in court, where he was sentenced on 12 of 14 poaching charges, City Press reported. 

He has since been convicted and sentenced for both incidents to 25 years imprisonment.

Nyathi was also declared unfit to possess a firearm. 

A total of 451 rhino were poached in South Africa last year – 327 within government reserves, and 124 on private property. 

A total of 209 rhino were poached in the Kruger National Park, the only national park to be hit by the syndicate. 

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment noted a 24% decrease in poaching on government reserves, but expressed concern that private reserves, notably in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, were bearing the brunt of being “easy prey”. 

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Compiled by Nica Richards.