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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 - 23 of 23
Tuesday, 15 October 2024
Maromo J 2024. Buffalo turns tables on illegal hunters in Kruger National Park, charges and kills one poacher.

The group of men was illegally hunting for buffalo in the Kruger National Park when one of them was attacked by a buffalo. "The group shot the buffalo and one of the accomplices removed the injured victim, who was deceased, from the scene and placed him next to the fence of the park. One of them returned home to inform relatives to come and pick him up," said Ledwaba. The alerted relative went and picked up the deceased man's body.

Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Maromo J 2023. R200 000 pangolin sale: Four arrested while selling endangered animals at Mahikeng Mall.

Pretoria - At least four people have been arrested by the Hawks in North West while they were selling two pangolins at a mall. Spokesperson for the Hawks in North West, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, said the two pangolins were being sold for R200 000.

Thursday, 13 April 2023
Dube M 2023. Botswana on alert after shooting of rhinos in sanctuary.

Botswana's wildlife authorities say four rhinoceroses were shot, and two of them died, in a heavily guarded sanctuary, although their horns were not removed. The shootings at the sanctuary in central Botswana came after the government de-horned and relocated most of the rhinos further inland to discourage poachers.

Monday, 20 March 2023
Maromo J 2023. Woman rhino poacher jailed for 16 years.

Pretoria - A woman involved in rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park was on Friday jailed for 16 years by the Skukuza Regional Court.

Tuesday, 7 February 2023
Maromo J 2023. Rogue Kruger National Park rangers: 14th suspect arrested for rhino poaching case.

Mpumalanga provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Nico Gerber has welcomed the arrest of the 14th accused person, 24-year-old Nkateko Maluleke who was wanted in a case of money laundering, where field rangers allegedly provided tactical information to rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park.

Friday, 16 December 2022
Maromo J 2022. 'Wanted' siblings arrested for allegedly paying Kruger National Park rangers for info to aid poachers.

Pretoria - The Hawks in Mpumalanga have arrested Martin Prince Lekhuleni, 37, and his sister Eunice Lekhuleni, 24, who were circulated by the elite crime fighting unit earlier this week as wanted individuals. The siblings, who were wanted on charges of money laundering in connection to payment of Kruger National Park field rangers in exchange for tactical information, handed themselves in to police.

Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Maromo J 2022. Pangolin in car: Six people remanded in custody for possession of caged animal.

Pretoria - Six people have been remanded in custody after they appeared before the Zeerust Magistrate's Court for possession of a pangolin.

Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Maromo J 2022. Rhino horn in KFC bag: Two men in custody for carrying rhino horns worth R870 000.

Pretoria - Two men, Junior Chauke aged 49 and Prince Ntsako Letswele, aged 33 were remanded in custody by the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court after they were arrested for alleged possession of rhino horn. Hawks' spokesperson in Mpumalanga Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said the duo was arrested after police received information about a vehicle with the occupants in possession of firearms, reportedly driving towards Ermelo.

Thursday, 17 November 2022
Maromo J 2022. Kruger National Park rhino poacher gets 'what he deserves': 17 years in jail.

Pretoria - Convicted rhino poacher Silvester Sidney Zitha, 40, has been sentenced to an e

Thursday, 17 November 2022
Dube M 2022. Rhino poaching way down in Botswana.

Botswana said it's seen a dramatic drop in rhinoceros poaching this year after taking greater steps to protect its shrinking rhino population. The significant decline was revealed in a report presented this week at a conference on CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. After losing 126 animals between 2018 and 2021, only six rhinoceroses have been poached in Botswana in 2022.
The report says poaching incidents peaked in 2020 when the country lost 62 rhinos. The following year, at least 33 were reported killed by poachers.

Saturday, 9 July 2022
Pieterse C 2022. Four Kruger rhinos killed, three dehorned.

Three men who had allegedly poached the four rhinos and were able to dehorn three of them, appeared in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate's Court on Monday July 4.

Wednesday, 29 June 2022
Maromo J 2022. PICS: Cop arrested while using SAPS vehicle to deliver 'injured and traumatised' pangolin for sale.

Pretoria - Two men aged 37 and 52, one a police constable, charged with illegal dealing in pangolin and contravention of the National Environmental Management-Biodiversity (Nemba) Act, have appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.

Wednesday, 2 March 2022
Maromo J 2022. Woman sentenced to five years in jail for money laundering linked to illegal rhino horn trade.

Pretoria - The Tembisa Regional Court has convicted and sentenced 49-year-old Ping Wu to five years direct imprisonment for money laundering. Spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, said in April 2019, the Hawks serious organised crime investigation team based in Middelburg registered an undercover investigation into allegations of illegal trade in rhino horn. "The scope of the project was to address a syndicate in Gauteng who were illegally dealing in rhino horns," said Sekgotodi.

Sunday, 21 November 2021
Maromo J 2021. German nationals arrested for catching and trading in protected lizards, geckos and tortoises.

Pretoria - Two German nationals are appearing in court on Monday, after being arrested near Askham, Northern Cape for the illegal trade and possession of reptiles and controlled substances. The men were nabbed while illegally catching and trading in reptiles, including Armadillo girdled lizards which are a threatened and protected species, geckos and tortoises in the Northern Cape "with the intention to smuggle them" out of South Africa into the lucrative international exotic pet trade.

Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Dube M 2021. Botswana allays concerns over rhino poaching crisis.

Botswana wildlife authorities have refuted reports the country's rhinoceros population is on the verge of extinction due to poaching. The southern African country has battled a rise in poaching, with more than 60 animals killed in the last two years.

Friday, 8 October 2021
Maromo J 2021. North West conservation official and a businessman arrested for illegally dealing in rhino horn.

Pretoria -  An official from the North West department of economic development, environment, conservation and tourism (Dedect) has been arrested in connection with illegal rhino horn trade, the national department of forestry, fisheries and the environment has confirmed. The official and the owner of a security company were arrested yesterday in relation to alleged contraventions of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, the rhino norms and standards and contravention of permit conditions.

Friday, 17 September 2021
Maromo J 2021. Cop and court official nabbed for attempting to smuggle 32 rhino horns to Malaysia.

Pretoria - A 53-year-old warrant officer within the South African Police Service (SAPS) was on Friday appearing in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court, with a female accomplice, on charges of alleged involvement in illegal dealings of rhino horns.

Tuesday, 2 March 2021
Dube M 2021. Botswana Denies 120 Rhinos Poached in 18 Months.

Botswana, confronting an unprecedented rise in poaching, has refuted reports by former President Ian Khama that at least 120 rhinoceroses have been killed in the last 18 months. Instead, the government says, wildlife crimes have dropped by 70 percent since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tuesday, 26 January 2021
Maromo J 2021. Bail denied for trio arrested for being in possession of elephant tusks.

Pretoria - Three men arrested by the police in Limpopo as they attempted to sell elephant tusks valued at R168 000 to undercover law enforcement officers were on Monday denied bail by the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court. Limpopo police provincial spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the trio were arrested on Friday at Savannah Mall and were allegedly in possession of elephant tusks.

Friday, 4 December 2020
Klein D 2020. NGO: Poverty fuels South African wildlife crimes.

Every day about two rhinoceroses are killed in South Africa for their horns. Be it for traditional medical purposes, or to impress friends with gifts such as carved figurines and necklaces, the demand in East Asia is high for rhino horns and wealthy buyers are willing to pay a good price. South Africa, on the other hand, is home to two third of Africa's rhinos while nearly half of the adult population lives in poverty.

Wednesday, 4 November 2020
Pieterse C 2020. Alleged rhino poachers granted bail.

The three Kruger National Park employees who were arrested for possession of rhino horns were granted bail in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate's Court last Thursday.

Sunday, 13 September 2020
Dube M 2020. Botswana parliament rejects call to arm game rangers.

Botswana's National Assembly has rejected a call to rearm its game rangers that was driven by a surge in rhinoceros poaching in recent years. Guns were taken away from the rangers in 201, but an opposition party lawmaker had moved a motion to rearm the wildlife officers.

Thursday, 20 August 2020
Dube M 2020. Botswana moves to rearm rangers as rhino poaching intensifies.

Botswana has decided to re-arm its wildlife rangers as the southern African country battles increased cases of poaching. In the last six months, at least 17 poachers have been killed in gunfire exchanges with the army. The government had disarmed wildlife rangers in 2018, saying that under the law, only the military was allowed the use of firearms during anti-poaching patrols. With the country losing 56 rhinoceros to poachers in the last two years, the government is reconsidering that approach. Wildlife and Tourism …

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