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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.
Dumisani Gwala, who was in 2014 arrested on rhino poaching charges along with coaccused Wiseman Mageba and a third, since deceased accomplice, told Mtubatuba Regional Court that his arrest and charging following a sting operation was a case of mistaken identity.
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| SA_2023_07_Mistaken identity led to rhino poaching kingpin arrest_Zululand Observer.pdf | 261.45 KB |
Day three of the rhino poaching trial involving alleged 'kingpin' Dumisani Gwala and his co-accused Wiseman Mageba is under way at Mtubatuba Regional Court, following cross-examination of the State witness yesterday (Wednesday). Magistrate Anand Maharaj, presiding over the case, on Wednesday cautioned State witness - former SAPS investigating officer of the case Jean Pierre van zyl Roux - about speculating about allegations that Gwala had the 'police in his pocket'.
The rhino poaching trial in which Wiseman Mageba and Dumisani Gwala are co-accused was today (Thursday) adjourned to July owing to the State prosecutor’s unavailability because of a family tragedy.
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| SA_2023_05_Rhino poaching kingpin_Trial adjourned_accuseds bail condition waived_Zululand Observer.pdf | 194.54 KB |
Wiseman Mageba and his co-accused Dumisani Gwala have pleaded not guilty to rhino
poaching allegations in a case which resumed at Mtubatuba Regional Court today
(Tuesday). The pair face a combined 12 charges relating to the alleged illegal purchase and possession
of rhino horn, resisting arrest, and attempted murder.
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| SA_2023_05_Mtubatuba rhino poaching accused plead not guilty_Zululandobserver.pdf | 192.3 KB |
The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached a record high in 2022 after 87 animals were killed compared to 45 in 2021, official government data showed on Monday. Africa's rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, despite being made of the same stuff as rhino hair and fingernails, is prized in East Asia as jewellery and fake medicine. The horns are worth tens of thousands of dollars in illegal Asian markets. The ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said poachers…
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| NAM_2023_01_Namibia rhino poaching surges 93 percent mainly in Etosha National Park_BusinessLive.pdf | 209.05 KB |
Strides made with hefty sentences and fines for criminals endangering game rangers and animals. When Jimmy Mashopane of Winterveld, north of Pretoria, was arrested for shooting, killing and mutilating nine white rhino in a Free State game reserve, taking 14 horns estimated at more than R500,000, veteran prosecutor Antoinette Ferreira threw the book at him. That one of the rhino was a month away from giving birth "only enhances one's sense of abomination", judge Phillip Loubser said.
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| SA_2022_09_Courts fire shots across the bows of poaching syndicates_Business Live.pdf | 485.82 KB |
According to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s rhino poaching statistics available on the organisation’s website, a total of 99 have fallen victim to poachers this year.
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| SA_2022_05_KZN rhino poaching numbers already high for 2022_Zululand Observer.pdf | 341.26 KB |