Kruger Park rangers accused of poaching back on the job

Four Kruger National Park (KNP) rangers are back at work after they were arrested on poaching-related charges earlier this year, reports Lowvelder.

The four accused were arrested in two separate incidents and appeared in the Skukuza Court in January and February respectively.

“We can confirm that the four are now back at work,” said Reynold Thakhuli, SANParks acting head of corporate communications.

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In January 2019, the media reported that Nzima Joe Shihlangu, 32, and Lucky Mkansi, 30, were arrested on January 15 after authorities believed they were allegedly involved in rhino poaching incidents at the KNP.

The duo was arrested at the Crocodile Bridge Section closest to the Mozambican border.

They were each granted R10,000 bail and were instructed not to have any contact with other KNP rangers while SANParks’ internal investigations were under way.

In a separate incident, Hendrik Silinda and Musa Mlambo were arrested in February in the park on poaching-related incidents.

Thakhuli added that bail conditions were set at the discretion of judges and that they were not aware of any changes to them thus far.

Lowvelder is investigating and will publish findings soon.

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