18 April 2013 - Water
and Environmental Affairs Minister, Mrs
Edna Molewa, has welcomed recent arrests
and the prosecution of individuals linked
to rhino poaching, urging all South Africans
to work with law enforcement agencies to
thwart on-going poaching.
The handing down of
stiffer sentences to poachers and the seizure
of assets of poaching accused should serve
as a message to potential poachers that
everything possible will be done to ensure
the protection of South Africa’s rhino population.
In the past week five
rhinos were poached in South Africa, bringing
the number of animals killed for their horns
to 232, since the beginning of 2013. Four
rhinos were poached in the Kruger National
Park, and one in North West.
Limpopo police arrested
two men in Naboomspruit and another four
in Soshanguve during investigations into
the poaching of a rhino and wounding of
another at the Tamboti Floodland Farm earlier
this month.
Police said the horns
of the one rhino had been removed, while
the other rhino survived after being shot
twice. Its horns were not removed. Two AK47
assault rifles were among the items recovered
during the arrests.
The six are to apply
for bail in Mokopane Magistrate’s Court
on April 29, following a brief appearance
yesterday on poaching-related charges.
The arrests come two
weeks after the theft of 66 rhino horns
from a private stockpile near Roedtan in
Limpopo. No arrests have yet been made in
connection with the case.
The latest arrests bring
to 66 the number of people arrested since
the beginning of the year for rhino poaching
and related activities.
The Minister welcomed
successes recently achieved in the courts.
Two men have been sentenced by the Phalaborwa
Regional Court to 15 years in prison each
after being caught poaching a rhino on a
private game farm near Hoedspruit in 2011.
The men were caught by local rangers only
minutes after cutting the horns from a rhino
they had shot. They were found in possession
of the horns.
In a separate development,
the North Gauteng High Court granted a preservation
of assets order to the National Prosecuting
Authority and the Asset Forfeiture Unit
under the Prevention of Organised Crime
Act against a suspected rhino poaching ring
leader Joseph Nyalunga, a former policeman
presently facing charges in the Middelburg
Regional Court.
Nyalunga was arrested
during an undercover operation on March
2 during which police recovered more than
R5 million stashed in a metal coffer in
the garage. The order was granted on the
basis that the money represented the proceeds
of unlawful activities, or was used to commit
offences. The Asset Forfeiture Unit had
last year seized assets worth more than
R3.2 million from the accused.
South Africans are urged
to report incidents of poaching and tip-offs
to the anonymous tip-off lines 0800 205
005, 08600 10111 or Crime-Line on 32211.
+ More
Rhino poaching update
30 April 2013 - The
number of rhinos poached in South Africa
since the beginning of the year now stands
at 273. The Kruger National Park continues
to bear the brunt of rhino poaching, with
the number of rhinos poached since last
week increasing from 180 to 201. Since the
beginning of the year, the North West province
has had a total of 21 rhinos poached while
19 have been poached in KwaZulu-Natal, 19
in Limpopo and 13 in Mpumalanga.
The number of alleged
poachers arrested countrywide has increased
to 83, with five arrests having been made
in the Kruger National Park since last week.
A total of 41 alleged
poachers have been arrested in the Kruger
National Park since January. In the past
week, three suspected rhino poachers were
arrested in the Tshokwane Section of the
Park after killing a black rhino. One of
the poachers died in a local hospital after
being wounded in a shootout with rangers.
The rhino horns were confiscated from the
alleged poachers, as well as a 458 hunting
rifle with a silencer, ammunition and poaching
related equipment.
In a separate incident
on Tuesday, an alleged poacher was fatally
wounded by rangers near the Langtoon dam
during a shootout. Two firearms, ammunition
and poaching equipment were recovered.
South Africans are urged
to report incidents of poaching and tip-offs
to the anonymous tip-off lines 0800 205
005, 08600 10111 or Crime-Line on 32211.
