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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 - 28 of 28
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.

Tuesday, 8 June 2021
Shikongo A 2021. Police, military officers arrested over wildlife crime.

Among the items seized from the suspects are four elephant tusks, two rhino horns, one live pangolin, a giraffe skin and a pangolin skin.

Friday, 5 February 2021
Shikongo A 2021. Less poaching, more arrests in 2020.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism recorded fewer incidents of wildlife poaching and maintained a high number of arrests for wildlife crime in 2020, minister Pohamba Shifeta says.

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.

Thursday, 3 September 2020
Shikongo A 2020. 'Butcher' poacher locked up for 30 years.

Notorious Congolese poacher Mobanza Mobembo Gérard, who is said to have poached some 500 elephants in the Republic of Congo, was last month sentenced to a 30-year jail term in an unprecedented wildlife crime conviction in that country.

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.

Thursday, 13 August 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Elephant, pangolin crimes still highest.

More than half of 363 suspects arrested for animal poaching or trafficking in 2020 were apprehended for crimes involving high-value animal species. This includes rhino, elephant and pangolin, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

Thursday, 6 August 2020
Shikongo A 2020. US helps Namibia pounce on pangolin smugglers.

The Namibian Police successfully arrested four suspected pangolin traffickers in a first-of-its-kind cooperation. This in partnership with US law enforcement through the US embassy in Windhoek. 
A statement issued by the embassy yesterday said information received by their investigations office in Pretoria was passed on to local authorities to facilitate the successful arrest of the suspects.

Tuesday, 4 August 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Five nabbed over wild cat skins.

Five suspects were arrested last week for contravening the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act after they were allegedly found in possession of lion and leopard skins.

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.

Thursday, 9 July 2020
Ngatjiheue C, Shikongo A 2020. Rhino, elephant poaching cases down.

Namibia has recorded a drastic drop in rhino and elephant poaching cases in the past three years because of improved response mechanisms, the government said yesterday. Minister of environment Pohamba Shifeta said the country has seen a reduction in rhino poaching numbers from 78 cases in 2018, 49 in 2019 and 17 so far this year.

Tuesday, 7 July 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Environment ministry receives donation for Canine Unit.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism today received a donation of a vehicle and vetenary drugs for the ministry's Canine Unit, aimed at supporting anti-poaching efforts. The two donations were made by Standard Bank and Swavet, MDS Animal Health and the Rhino Park Private Hospital, at a handover ceremony hosted in Windhoek today.

Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Wildlife gets bulk of environment budget.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has allocated 36% of its budget to wildlife and protected area management. This was announced by minister of environment, forestry and tourism Pohamba Shifeta during his budget motivation in the National Assembly on Thursday.

Thursday, 4 June 2020
Shikongo A 2020. 16 Namibians nabbed for Wildlife crime.

The report, which is jointly compiled by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism's intelligence and investigations unit and the protected resources division of the Namibian Police, detailed that the seven cases saw the arrest of 16 suspects. All those apprehended are Namibian nationals. Of those arrested, 11 were in connection with rhino poaching or trafficking, two in connection with elephant poaching or trafficking, two for the hunting of giraffe, and one for contravening the Arms and Ammunition Act. Among the wildlife products seized were six rhino…

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.

Wednesday, 8 April 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Wildlife crime arrests up in 2019.

Arrests for wildlife crime involving high-value species like elephants, rhinos and pangolins, increased by 36% in 2019 compared to the year before.

Wednesday, 1 April 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Anti-poaching activities not affected by lockdown.

The ministry of environment says its anti-poaching activities will not be hindered by the rapidly spreading coronavirus, which has forced many countries, Namibia included, into a lockdown.

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.

Tuesday, 10 March 2020
Shikongo A 2020. K9 unit thwarts suspected oryx poachers.

Police reservists at Karibib intercepted a group of poachers, who had killed two oryx at Farm Albrechtshohe, but were only able to apprehend one of the four suspects.

Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Shikongo A 2020. Six arrested for pangolin skin possession.

LAW enforcement agents last week cracked down on six individuals who were found in possession of pangolin skin.

Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Shikongo A 2019. Police seize tusks, animal hides.

The Namibian Police last week seized an array of wildlife products comprising elephant tusks, kudu horns and hides, civet skin and warthog carcasses, amongst others.

Wednesday, 9 October 2019
Shikongo A 2019. Two arraigned over 100 ivory pieces.

Two men were arrested for being found in possession of 100 pieces of ivory, a summary of wildlife crime statistics from 30 September to 6 October details.

Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Shikongo A 2019. Police, suspected poacher exchange gunfire.

A 40-year-old suspected rhino poacher exchanged gunfire with a team of 15 Namibian Police officers and members of the Namibian Defence Force for nearly two hours on a farm outside Otavi on Sunday.

Friday, 24 May 2019
Shikongo A 2019. Justice ministry to prioritise wildlife crime.

Government is tightening the noose on wildlife crime syndicates as the country's flora and fauna increasingly become endangered.

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.

Shikongo A 2021. Intensified anti-poaching efforts bear results.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism says intensified efforts against poaching and other wildlife crimes are bearing results as law-enforcement agencies continue to wrangle poaching suspects.

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