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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.

Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.

Displaying results 1 - 18 of 18
Friday, 6 October 2023
Duba S 2023. Two nabbed in Northern Cape for possession of protected plants.

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.

Thursday, 5 October 2023
Duba S 2023. Rhino poacher handed 30 years for killing three rhinos in Kruger National Park.

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.

Thursday, 28 September 2023
Duba S 2023. Wildlife Crime: Northern Cape man fined R50,000 for trading in pangolin skin.

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.

Thursday, 7 September 2023
Duba S 2023. Gauteng Hawks bust three men for illegal possession of elephant tusks.

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.

Tuesday, 1 August 2023
Muyamba J 2023. Man nabbed  for possession of hippo carcass.

An adult male was on Friday arrested by the Namibian police after he was found to be transporting game meat (a hippopotamus carcass) at Katere village in the Ndiyona constituency, Kavango East region. The suspect is due to face charges of illegal transportation and possession of game meat.

Wednesday, 3 May 2023
Muyamba J 2023. Elephant killed, tusks removed.

Police in Zambezi region are investigating a case of hunting of specially protected game and theft of elephant tusks after a decomposed elephant was discovered. It is alleged that unknown suspect(s) poached and killed an elephant, and removed its tusks between 16 to 22 April 2023 near Dzudzo farming area in Dzoti conservancy of Zambezi region. "A decomposed carcass was recovered at Dzudzo area on Friday, 28 April 2023 and it seemed to have been killed two weeks back from the date of recovery. The elephant is valued at N$29 000," the police said no arrest has been made yet.

Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Duba S 2023. Trio of rhino KNP poachers handed prison terms totalling over 100 years.

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.

Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Muyamba J 2023. Cops fatally shoot rhino poaching suspect.

A suspect in a poaching case was gunned down by police officers on Saturday after three men allegedly hunted down a rhinoceros at farm Okarakua in the Windhoek district. One man, aged 27, was arrested, while a third suspect is still at large. Subsequently, a murder case was opened against the anti-poaching unit officers.

Thursday, 19 January 2023
Duba S 2023. Hawks arrest pair who tried to sell them two elephant tusks they had with them.

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.

Monday, 16 January 2023
Muyamba J 2023. Suspects arrested with elephant tusks, pangolin skins.

The Namibian Police in Mukwe constituency in the Kavango East region on Friday arrested a 31-year-old man after he was found in possession of controlled wildlife products - two elephant tusks. The suspect, who is now due for court, was arrested at buffalo checkpoint in the Mukwe constituency during a police special operation on Friday afternoon at around 19h00. The suspect will appear in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 16 January.

Monday, 12 December 2022
Duba S 2022. Activists raise alarm over spike in rhino poaching cases since Covid restrictions lifted.

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.

Monday, 29 August 2022
Muyamba J 2022. Three nabbed for elephant tusks.

Three Namibian male suspects aged 26, 30 and 33 are due in court after they were arrested on Saturday night in Kavango West for illegal possession of a live pangolin and two elephant tusks.

Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Muyamba J 2022. Government seizes timber in Kavango West.

Forestry officials in Kavango West have seized about 4 000 planks from illegal timber harvesters at some recently allocated farms with no government leaseholds in the Katji-na-Katji area. A forestry patrol team discovered the illegal operation deep in the forest where planks and a timber cutting machine was confiscated. Two suspects were apprehended.

Thursday, 3 March 2022
Muyamba J 2022. Illegal tree harvesting rocks conservancy.

Rundu - The Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy in the Mashare constituency of Kavango East is facing a crisis of illegal tree harvesting. At one crime scene, about 86 logs of illegally harvested Kiaat timber, scientifically known as Pterocarpus Angolensis, were found and 10 at another by conservancy members who were

Tuesday, 24 August 2021
Kabanza R 2021. Uganda: 'Reformed' poachers cry out for help.

A group of self-proclaimed reformed poachers in the districts of Rukungiri, Mitooma and Kanungu have cried out to government demanding income-generating projects. Members constituting the group are from areas neighbouring Queen Elizabeth National Game Park in Bwambara Sub- County, Rukungiri District, Kiyanga Sub-County, Mitooma District and Kanungu District. They say "life is becoming harder unlike when they used to poach."

Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Muyamba J 2021. N$3 000 bail for selling pangolin scales to cop.

Rundu - A 30-year-old man, who was arrested through a police sting operation on Saturday at Zigizi village in Kavango West, was granted bail of N$3 000 for alleged possession and dealing in pangolin scales when he appeared in court yesterday.

Thursday, 22 April 2021
Muyamba J 2021. Two granted bail for possession of python skin.

The Rundu Magistrate's Court granted bail to two Namibian men arrested for possession of a spotted genet skin, four python skins and two mineral stones. The value of the confiscated items is yet to be determined. Jesaya Johannes Kasera (29) and Mathews Nkomba Kaveto (36) appeared before Rundu magistrate Hellen Olaiya on a charge of contravening the nature conservation ordinance, in particular possession of raw skin of protected game.

Friday, 10 July 2020
Shihepo T 2020. Nam anti-poaching gets 'bite'.

Namibia has recorded a drastic reduction in poaching in the past three years because of improved response mechanisms. Most of the success is attributed to the Environment and Tourism Ministry's efforts to upscale law enforcement components of conservation. Environment and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta said anti-poaching canine units (the Ministry of Environment and Tourism Dog Unit) had been deployed to good effect. "The Dog Unit is part of our anti-poaching initiatives.

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