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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 - 11 of 11
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
Kheibes E 2024. Three men caught with protected plants worth N$80 000.

Three Namibians were nabbed last week after they were caught in possession of close to 450 kilograms of protected plants, estimated to be worth nearly N$80 000. According to the Namibian Police, the three men - aged 27, 30 and 37 - were caught at the Namasira police checkpoint in the Kavango West Region last Friday. Police discovered the men were transporting seven 150-kilogram bags containing 176 gouty-vine (cyphostemma) plants weighing, 429 kilograms in total. The pants were valued at N$79 288.

Friday, 23 June 2023
Calitz L 2023. Poaching rife in Manyeleti Nature Reserve, says party.

The FF Plus called for intensified efforts to curb poaching of wild animals in the Manyeleti Game Reserve, while the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency said the situation had been stabilised after a hectic December of dog poaching and snaring.

Thursday, 24 February 2022
Calitz L 2022. Alleged rhino horn possession case goes to Nelspruit Regional Court in June.

Mpumalanga's AB Steyn and Limpopo's Dawie Groenewald appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court on February 23 and 24. The pair's previous appearance was on December 10 last year when the case was postponed for the fourth time. Some issues were raised by each of their legal representatives yesterday including that the state was dragging its feet in the case, that the state should be held responsible for the teams' travel costs because of the delays, and that documents were not presented in the way they were supposed to be.

Friday, 17 September 2021
Calitz L 2021. Case of alleged possession of rhino horn postponed again.

AB Steyn and Dawie Groenewald appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court again on September 17 after they had been arrested in Mbombela on July 20. The pair was arrested for the alleged possession of 19 rhino horns on July 20, and after appearing in court on July 23 for the first time, they were released on bail of R50 000 each. Following their appearance today (September 17) the case was again postponed to December 10 for further investigation.

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Muvundisi J 2021. Ivory suspect shifts blame to co-accused.

A Bulawayo man, who was arrested together with two other men for illegally dealing in ivory, has shifted the blame to his co-accused, claiming the tusks belonged to the duo.

Saturday, 3 April 2021
Muvundisi J 2021. Worry over increased poaching of painted dogs.

Painted dogs, also known as wild dogs, face extinction as a result of increased illegal hunting by poachers, a conservation centre has revealed. The Painted Dogs Conservation Centre in Dete, which is located at the foot of the Hwange National Park, said snares set up by poachers, mostly villagers, have become a huge threat to the population of painted dogs.

Tuesday, 23 October 2018
Sasman C 2018. Alleged police brutality alarming - NamRights.

The human rights organisation says citizens are unsafe in police custody. Human rights organisation NamRights says it is becoming increasingly alarmed by widespread allegations of torture and other cruel treatment of ordinary citizens by the Namibian police and other law-enforcement agencies. The executive director of NamRights, Phil Ya Nangoloh, says the organisation has reasonable cause to believe that there is evidence that citizens in general are no longer safe in police custody.

Thursday, 8 December 2016
Sasman C 2016. Three missing in Etosha.

Suspected rhino and elephant poachers have gone missing in Etosha National Park after an alleged shootout with the anti-poaching unit of the Namibian police.

Monday, 21 December 2015
Sasman C 2015. Poaching smells like an inside job.

The head of the Namibian Police, Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga, said he would dismiss with contempt any claim that the government does not have a real commitment to root out the poaching of Namibia’s wildlife. “Cabinet has allocated a lot of resources to combat and eradicate poaching. It is a costly exercise. This is an indication of how serious government is,” he stressed. Ndeitunga said it is clear that the poaching of rhinos and elephants in Namibian national parks is a well-orchestrated and well-funded transnational organised crime.

Friday, 18 December 2015
Sasman C 2015. Ya Nangoloh dared to give evidence.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Namibian Police have requested evidence from Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) as well as the executive director of Namrights, Phil ya Nangoloh, to substantiate allegations of political leaders’ involvement in rhino and elephant poaching. At a joint press briefing on Wednesday, Minister Pohamba Shifeta and police chief Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga requested ya Nangoloh to submit the said evidence before the end of December.

Monday, 4 February 2013
Sasman C 2013. Illegal wildlife poaching at Tsiseb conservancy.

While there is no conclusive evidence of illegal poaching, members of the Tsiseb constituency in the Erongo Region say wildlife in the area is being decimated by unscrupulous elements.

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