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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Two suspected poachers were at the weekend arrested while in possession of six pieces of elephant tusks in Tigania East, Meru county. They had wrapped the tusks weighing 18.5 kilos in four sacks when police and Kenya Wildlife Service officials intercepted them. Police said the two were nabbed at Muriamburi Junction Mulika area on July 18, as they transported the same to a potential buyer aboard a motorcycle. The suspects will be charged with being in possession of wildlife trophies of endangered species, contrary to Section 92(4) of the Wildlife Conservation Management Act 2013…
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KEN_2024_07_Two arrested with Sh1_9 million elephant tusks in Tigania_The Star.pdf | 619.29 KB |
The police constable and a civilian had been arrested in Nairobi West and Eastleigh with the cargo on Sunday. They had tried to sell the trophies to Kenya Wildlife Service ocials who had posed as potential buyers.
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KEN_2024_17_Policeman among two arrested with elephant tusks in Nairobi_Star.pdf | 287.96 KB |
Two men were on Tuesday arrested while trafficking 36 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 77 kilogrammes valued at Sh12 million in Maralal, Samburu county.
Prosecutor general Martha Imalwa has responded to articles published in the New Era and The Namibian about the trial of a Chinese businessman, Hou Xue Cheng, and his Namibian co-accused Hamutenja Hamutenya, whose cases were struck from the court roll recently. The reason the charges on dealing in controlled wildlife products were dismissed was that neither the witnesses nor the docket was before the court. According to the PG, the information contained in the articles was incorrect.
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NAM_2022_09_PG explains missing dockets case_New Era.pdf | 366.5 KB |
Regional Court Magistrate Leopoldt Hangalo yesterday struck the case of a Chinese businessman, Hou Xue Cheng and his Namibian co-accused Hamutenja Hamutenya on a count of dealing in controlled wildlife products, from the court roll. The reason was that no docket nor witnesses were before the court. The magistrate said the matter has been coming from 2014, and the State failed to get their affairs in order for it to start. He cancelled the bail of N$100 000 for Cheng and N$5 000 for Hamutenya, and ordered it to be refunded to the depositors.
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NAM_2022_09_Chinese nationals docket disappears_New Era.pdf | 400.12 KB |
Windhoek High Court Judge Herman January on Friday dismissed an appeal against the ruling of magistrate Linus Samunzala to release self-styled prophet Jackson Babi on bail pending his trial. Babi faces charges of possessing or dealing in two rhino horns, hunting a rhinoceros that is protected by law and possessing a hunting rifle and ammunition without a licence. The State claims Babi and Frizans Naululu Dumeni were in possession or dealt in two rhino horns at Babi’s residence in Kleine Kuppe in Windhoek between 26-27 May 2020.
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NAM_2021_08_Babi to remain in custody bail appeal dismissed_New Era.pdf | 391.57 KB |
Police said the four were found in possession of 19 pieces of the jumbo tusks. The tusks have a street value of Sh10 million.
There was a 50% increase in the number of rhinoceroses killed in the first six months of 2021 in South Africa compared to the same period last year, but the figure is still lower than pre-pandemic years, the country's government announced Saturday. Barbara Creecy, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, said 249 rhinos have been poached for their horns from Jan. 1 through the end of June. That's up from the 166 poached in the same time period in 2020, but still a marked decline from 2019, which saw 318 rhino poaching.
A bail appeal by three men accused of smuggling rhino horns failed in the Oshakati High Court when acting Judge David Munsu dismissed their appeal against the refusal of bail, by the Opuwo magistrate's court.
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NAM_2021_07_Rhino horn accused bail appeal fails_New Era.pdf | 513.36 KB |
A former Brave Warriors chiropractor, who was later charged with murder as well as poaching, has died in custody. Kandjii was being held in custody with two others suspected of killing two adult white rhinos on the farm Khainas near Gobabis in December 2016. They have also been accused of wounding two more rhinos
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NAM_2021_07_Murder_poaching accused dies in custody_New Era.pdf | 378.14 KB |
Flamboyant preacher Jackson Babi yesterday withdrew an urgent application that his lawyer Kadhila Amoomo had filed in the High Court last week to have his arrest and the search at his house declared as unlawful.
Just as Judge Harald Geier was ready to hear evidence, Amoomo filed the request to withdraw the matter and offered costs to the lawyers of the prosecutor general, the inspector general of the Namibian Police and the magistrate of the district of Gobabis, who had indicated that they would oppose the application.
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NAM_2020-06_Preacher withdraws urgent application_New Era.pdf | 319.77 KB |
This report covers the period 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.
The first annual report on combatting wildlife crime in Namibia is a noteworthy milestone. Wildlife crime has become one of the central conservation challenges of our time. Namibia’s response to this, since the current wave of crime began, has been underpinned by one central factor – strong partnerships.
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MET_Combatting Wildlife Crime in Namibia Annual Report 2019.pdf | 2.03 MB |