This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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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The Springbok SAPS Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit (STESU) arrested two men who were driving a vehicle loaded with bags of Conophytum bilobum plants on the R382 road between Steinkopf and Port Nolloth.
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SA_2023-10_Two nabbed in Northern Cape for possession of protected plants_IOL.pdf | 304.49 KB |
An alleged rhino poacher has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars for killing three rhinos at Kruger National Park in Skukuza. Sydney Sibuyi, 40, was sentenced to thirty years of direct imprisonment in the Skukuza Regional Court on Thursday for poaching-related offences.
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SA_2023_10_Rhino poacher handed 30 years for killing three rhinos in Kruger National Park_IOL.pdf | 122.59 KB |
A Northern Cape man found with a pangolin skin at a truck stop on the N14 Road in Upington was sentenced to a fine of R50,000. Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe said that Zandray Dawids, 40, was arrested in January 2021 after being found with pangolin skin at a truck stop on N14 Road in Upington.
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SA_2023_09_Wildlife Crime_Northern Cape man fined R50_000 for trading in pangolin skin_IOL.pdf | 285.51 KB |
The Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Johannesburg and K9 Unit Johannesburg arrested three men who were driving a Nissan Almera loaded with ivory tusks around the Bruma area in Johannesburg. Three suspects, aged between 33 and 35, were arrested on Wednesday in Bruma, Johannesburg, by members of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Johannesburg and K9 Unit Johannesburg for the illegal possession of elephant tusks.
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SA_2023_09_Gauteng Hawks bust three men for illegal possession of elephant tusks_IOL.pdf | 218.52 KB |
Zwelithini Mathebula 37, and Lucky Mhlongo 39, were sentenced to 34 years' imprisonment while their co-accused Teddy Dlamini 37, was sentenced to 39 years' imprisonment. NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, said that the three culprits were arrested in November 2019, along with their two co-accused who absconded after they were granted bail. The three were convicted of killing three rhinos, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of ammunition, and possession of a dangerous weapon.
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SA_2023_04_Trio of rhino KNP poachers handed prison terms totalling over 100 years_IOL 2023.pdf | 295.28 KB |
Angola's Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) in Bengo Province bordering the capital city Luanda, detained two poachers for killing an elephant in the municipality of Pango Aluquém. The detention took place this Monday due to complaints from people who saw the accused consuming and selling meat from the great mammal. The two, José Sebastião and Malambo Castro, aged 28 and 30, respectively, countered the accusations by saying that they found the animal already dead and that they only enjoyed the meat and ivory in the company of other people from their community.
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ANG_2023_03_Angolan authorities arrest two suspected suspected elephant poachers_Independent.pdf | 325.5 KB |
Two suspects, aged of 43 and 44 years, appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Thursday after they were arrested for being in possession of two elephant tusks they tried to sell to the officers. This followed information acquired by the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in Free State concerning the two suspects who were trying to sell the tusks in Bloemfontein.
Cape Town - Anti-rhino poaching activist Wayne Bolton has called for stronger collaborative action from the government amid concern over rising rhino poaching cases. According to Bolton, rhino poaching across Africa saw a significant decrease during strict Covid-19 lockdowns, but as the restrictions loosened, poachers intensified their onslaught on the species, with South Africa being hardest hit.
Elephant ivory is still being sold on eBay despite the online marketplace introducing a ban more than a decade ago, researchers have found. Sellers are misrepresenting the materials used in certain items and sometimes using "code words" to disguise illicit listings, researchers from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, in England, said in a statement on Monday. In 2008, eBay announced it was introducing a global ban on the sale of ivory starting on January 1, 2009. "Despite eBay's strict policy on…
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INT_2021_01_Elephant ivory still being sold on eBay despite 12_year ban, research finds_CNN.pdf | 180.51 KB |
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.
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NAM_2018-10_Alleged police brutality alarming_Namibian Sun.pdf | 84.28 KB |
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.
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NAM_2016-12_Three missing in Etosha_Namibian Sun.pdf | 100.22 KB |
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.
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NAM_2015-12_Poaching smells like an inside job_Namibian Sun.pdf | 131.84 KB |
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.
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NAM_2015-12_Ya Nangoloh dared to give evidence_Namibian Sun.pdf | 63.71 KB |
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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NAM_2013-02_Illegal wildlife poaching at Tsiseb conservancy_The Namibian.pdf | 244.35 KB |