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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.

Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.

The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.

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Displaying results 1 - 20 of 20
Wednesday, 27 March 2024
Amutenja H-M 2024. Three NDF members arrested for poaching in Mangetti National Park.

Three members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) were apprehended on Friday, within the confines of Mangetti National Park. The arrests followed after park officials saw the perpetrators climbing over a fence during a routine anti-poaching patrol and fence inspection. The three soldiers were arrested while attempting to claim over the Mangetti Park’s boundary fence into the Mururani location, bearing bags laden with dried game meat ranging from Eland, Kudu and Wildebeest.

Monday, 4 March 2024
Amutenja H-M 2024. More than 600 rhinos were poached in ten years.

Between 2015 and February 2024, Namibia lost a staggering 631 rhinos due to poaching, marking a concerning downturn in its conservation success. This is according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism last week during the Commemoration of World Wildlife Day 2024. Breaking down the figures year by year, statistics paint a grim picture of 97 rhinos poached in 2015 alone, with six reported to be poached in 2016 and five poached in 2017.

Sunday, 26 November 2023
Amutenja H-M 2023. Zambian poachers flee as officials confiscate 24 elephant tusks.

In an operation led by Members of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT), in collaboration with the Namibian Police (Nampol) and Namibian Defense Force (NDF), 24 elephant tusks were confiscated during an early morning interception on Friday in the Zambezi region.

Monday, 16 October 2023
Hilukilwa P 2023. Cannabis, mandrax, and rhino horn possession lands six behindbars.

Meanwhile, the police at Outjo in the Kunene region arrested a 28-year-old suspect while he was transporting a rhinohorn on Friday evening. He was apprehended when the police stopped and searched the vehicle he was traveling inbetween Outjo and Okaukuejo. The rhino horn’s estimated value is N$300,000.

Monday, 9 October 2023
Amutenja H-M 2023. Poachers sentenced to 15 years.

The Windhoek Magistrate Court has handed down prison sentences of up to 15 years to four individuals involved in a heinous rhino poaching case. The culprits were found guilty for their involvement in a poaching incident dating back to December 2016, where four white rhinos were ruthlessly killed on a private farm in the Gobabis District. On 22 December 2016, the suspects allegedly, without a hunting permit, killed four white rhinos - two bulls and two pregnant cows - each valued at N$1.25 million, with a total value…

Thursday, 22 June 2023
Hilukilwa P 2023. Nampol in Omusati thwart a rhino poaching expedition and confiscate the rifle.

Nampol in Omusati thwart a rhino poaching expedition and confiscate the rifle.

Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Amutenja H-M 2023. MEFT employee nabbed for poaching.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has identified its employee Otto Jan Uirab as the suspect in the poaching incident that occurred last week. He is charged alongside Nedbank employee, Harold Xarageb, and two other suspects Gaeb Franklin and Veldskoendraer Neely. The suspects were arrested on suspicion of illegally hunting a blue wildebeest in the Dan Viljoen Park near Windhoek last week. They have since appeared in the Katutura Magistrate’s court. A case has been opened with the Otjomuise Police station and the suspects were remanded in custody until the May 2023…

Friday, 10 February 2023
Amutenja H-M 2023. Ministry official arrested for poaching.

An official from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism was amongst three other suspects that were arrested on suspicion of illegally hunting a blue wildebeest in Dan Viljoen Park near Windhoek. "The incident happened on Tuesday at a roadblock between Dan Viljoen and Windhoek. The Ministry condemns the incident particularly, the alleged involvement of a staff member," said the ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda. They were arrested on Tuesday at the roadblock, west of Windhoek, leading to the game park.

Friday, 15 October 2021
Ncube L 2021. Suspended sentences for wire snare poachers.

Two Victoria Falls men, one of them a neighbourhood watch committee (NWC) member, have been fined $6 000 each for trapping animals with wire snares.

Saturday, 3 October 2020
Ncube L 2020. Pangolin peddling villagers arrested.

Two villagers from Binga who were caught trying to sell a live pangolin in Zambia have been sentenced to a mandatory five years in jail each in the neighbouring country.

Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Ncube L 2020. Two Binga villagers arrested for trying to sell pangolin.

Two villagers from Binga who were caught trying to sell a live pangolin in Zambia have been sentenced to a mandatory five years in jail each in the neighbouring country. Ephrain Mugande (35) and Simple Mugande (32) both of Manjolo Village under Chief Sikalenge illegally hunted the pangolin in Chizarira National Park on the boundary of Binga and Gokwe before crossing the Zambezi River with it to Sinazongwe town in Zambia with the intention to sell it.

Wednesday, 26 August 2020
Ncube L 2020. 2 Binga folks arrested for possessing live pangolin.

Two villagers from Binga have been arrested in Zambia after they were found in possession of a live pangolin they allegedly intended to sell in the neighbouring country.

Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Ncube L 2020. Zimbabwe - Dete man in court for illegal possession of elephant tusks 28 Jul, 2020 - 17:07.

A 53-year-old villager from Dete in Matabeleland North has appeared in court for unlawful possession of four elephant tusks.

Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Ncube L 2020. 53-year-old in court for illegal possession of elephant tusks (Zimbabwe).

A 53-year-old villager from Dete in Matabeleland North has appeared in court for unlawful possession of four elephant tusks. Similo Vundla of Mambanje village under Chief Nekatambe was arrested by an anti-poaching team in March.

Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Ncube L 2020. Footie star arrested over elephant tusks.

Football Club player Craven Banda has been arrested after he was allegedly found with eight raw elephant tusks.

Friday, 20 March 2020
Ncube L 2020. Four elephants poisoned, tusks removed.

Four elephants were found dead, three of them without tusks in Woodlands Farm resettlement area on Monday.

Thursday, 8 October 2015
Hilukilwa P 2015. Principal busted for poaching.

A timely tip-off and a swift police deployment in the dead of the night produced yet another success story in the Namibian Police’s ongoing anti-poaching campaign in the northern regions bordering the Etosha National Park when four suspected illegal hunters were caught red-handed on Wednesday morning. The suspects – including the principal of local primary school - were arrested in the Ompundja Constituency of the Oshana Region after they were allegedly found in possession of the carcasses of four duikers, one steenbok, four springhares, one rabbit and two red-crested korhaans.…

Friday, 17 July 2015
Hilukilwa P 2015. Poachers won’t win.

The police are determined to get to the bottom of the rhino poaching problem regardless of the status of the people involved, Commissioner Ndahangwapo Kashihakumwa, who is leading an anti-poaching operation in the Etosha National Park and surrounding areas in Omusati and Kunene, has warned. On Wednesday, a team of investigating officers was sent from pillar to post by three suspected poachers who had pledged to give their full cooperation to the police.

Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Hilukilwa P 2015. Syndicates exposed in Etosha rhino poaching.

The police have made significant progress in their investigation of the recently discovered mass killings of rhino in the Etosha National Park. The death toll is expected to rise, if information at the sites of buried carcasses prove to be correct. A large number of suspects have been arrested and the list includes employees within the park. The Oshana police regional commander, Commissioner Ndahangwapo Kashihakumwa, is heading a team of investigators permanently deployed in Etosha since June 1.

Ncube L 2021. Father and son arrested for poaching.

A Hwange man and his son have been arrested for poaching after they were allegedly caught trapping animals and birds at the edge of Hwange National Park. Smart Shoko (48) and Ferdinand Shoko (26) both of Number F98 Madumabisa were found in possession of four impala carcasses, a baboon carcass and 79 fowl birds when they were ambushed by an anti-poaching unit in Bumbusi area outside Hwange town on Tuesday.

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