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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 - 23 of 23
Friday, 28 October 2022
Itamalo M 2022. Omusati residents warned against hunting stray animals.

Otamanzi constituency councilor, Johaness Iyambo has warned residents of his constituency to desist from hunting stray Game animals which has found way into their communal land as they search for water. This comes after a two-week open hunting season, for residents in the Otamanzi Constituency which borders the Etosha National Park to the East, where residents have been feasting on the stray animals.

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.

Friday, 5 February 2021
Ndjavera M 2021. Poaching cases down in 2020.

Namibia has registered a drop in rhino poaching from 52 cases in 2019 to 31 since the beginning of last year. In 2018, the country lost 81 rhinos due to poaching, 66 in 2016 and 97 in 2015. The 2020 figure is the lowest in the last five years. Addressing a media conference yesterday, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said more resources have been allocated to fight poaching, and more stakeholders have come on board to support efforts to stop the gruesome practice.

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.

Monday, 4 December 2017
Itamalo M 2017. Three arrested with two rhino horns.

Ohangwena police on Friday arrested three men found with two fresh rhino horns. The trio were arrested at a temporary roadblock at Omungwelume. According to Ohangwena police spokesperson, sergeant Abner Kaume Itumba, the men were travelling in a seven-seater vehicle when they were arrested.

Thursday, 19 October 2017
Itamalo M 2017. Rhino injures suspected poacher.

A suspected poacher was severely injured by a rhino in the Etosha National Park on Saturday evening. Warrant officer Simson Shilongo of the police in Kunene told The Namibian yesterday that Luteni Muharukua (age unknown) and other alleged poachers had entered the national park illegally to poach rhinos.

Monday, 21 August 2017
Itamalo M 2017. Two men found with fresh rhino horns.

Two Namibian men were arrested on Saturday afternoon at a roadblock in the Ohangwena region after police found two fresh rhino horns in their luggage. According to Ohangwena police spokesman sergeant Abner Kaume Itumba, the men aged 29 and 32 were arrested at the Onhuno roadblock in the Helao Nafidi town.

Thursday, 15 December 2016
Tjihenuna T, Haidula T 2016. Shifeta says poaching not a crisis.

The poaching of rhinos and elephants in Namibia is not a crisis because only about 1,2% are poached per year, said environment minister Pohamba Shifeta.

Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Haidula T 2016. Ndeitunga breathes fire over rhino horns.

Police inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga yesterday said he will take stiff measures on officers who were on duty at Hosea Kutako International Airport when the Chinese national smuggled 18 rhino horns out of Namibia.

Monday, 18 July 2016
Haidula T 2016. Concern over release of poachers as three are arrested with rhino horns.

Deputy minister of environment Tommy Nambahu has repeated his stance that the release of suspected rhino poachers is hampering the ministry's efforts to fight the scourge.

Friday, 4 March 2016
Haidula T 2016. Anti-poaching war to cost a billion.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism projects to have spent over a billion dollars in anti-poaching operations by the end of this year since the operation started two years ago.

Thursday, 7 January 2016
Haidula T 2016. Rhino poaching toll at 80.

Four more rhino carcasses were found at Grootberg Lodge in Kunene region in late December last year.

Thursday, 17 December 2015
Haidula T 2015. Shifeta unaware of ministers who poach.

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta says he is not aware of any ministers or former members of parliament involved in poaching. Meanwhile, police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga says he cannot deny that ministers or members of parliament were involved in poaching, but he wanted to know who they are so he can lay his hands on them. The minister and the police chief were reacting to reports in the Namibian Sun that NamRights executive director Phil ya Nangoloh had allegedly submitted a report to Ndeitunga in which political leaders are accused of involvement in…

Friday, 10 July 2015
Haidula T 2015. Poaching syndicates use locals.

The Tourism minister has accused some traditional leaders and businesspeople of being used as middlemen by poaching syndicates.

Monday, 15 June 2015
Haidula T 2015. Fencing Etosha to prevent poaching.

In a move to control rhino poaching, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism started constructing a proper boundary fence to protect animals in the Etosha National Park. The fencing is expected to cost an estimated N$700 000 per kilometre. Etosha measures 824 kilometres, and the ministry would need about N$576 million to fence it all. The ministry, however, does not have enough funds for the project and has requested an additional N$167 million during this financial year. It was allocated about N$643 million in the 2015/2016 national budget.

Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Haidula T 2015. Nambahu shames poachers.

Poachers should be ashamed of themselves for killing innocent animals, said deputy minister of environment and tourism Tommy Nambahu. Just a week ago, Nambahu explained that the ministry was aware that local people are being used in the poaching of elephants and rhinos. "Shame on them for doing what they are doing to innocent animals. I have never heard of a rhino destroying a mahangu field or killing anyone. Why must it be killed because someone wants its parts?" he asked.

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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