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A man arrested for allegedly being in possession of two elephant tusks at the Buffalo checkpoint in the Mukwe Constituency on Friday, made his first appearance in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Lihako Sishwama, 31, appeared before magistrate Selma Shiiga, who granted him bail of N$10,000. According to the charge sheet, Sishwama was arrested during a special police operation in the Mukwe Constituency. He faces a charge of dealing in and being in possession of controlled wildlife products. The charge sheet did not reveal the value of the two elephant tusks.

A Police operation code name 'Clarion' last week arrested 127 illegal immigrants from neighbouring Zambia who were suspected of engaging in the illegal harvesting of protected wood species in the Zambezi region.
Namibia Police (Nampol), Zambezi regional Commander, Andreas Shilelo told Confidente the immigrants were charged under the Illegal Immigrant Act and given forty-eight hours to leave the country and were subsequently deported. "Most of them we arrested, where not found harvesting timber but we took

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.

A carcass of a white bull rhino was discovered on the October 20 at a private farm in the Windhoek district. It is believed the rhino was poached between the October 16 and 20. According to a police report, investigations were carried out at the scene of the crime to which, "bullet fragments from the animal indicate the animal was killed for its horn," the police report reads. In a similar report a case of hunting of specially protected game has been opened at the Seeis police station in the Windhoek district.

While Africa is seeing a drop in the rate of rhinoceros poaching, Namibian wildlife authorities say they are seeing a surge in rhino killings in the southern African nation. Conservationists say poachers seeking rhino horns for Asian markets are targeting Namibia’s commercial farms. Save the Rhino Trust CEO Simson Uri Khob said there are reports that syndicates of rhino poachers from South Africa are operating in Namibia. He said poaching cases are rising, especially in Etosha National Park and commercial farms. "It's a problem," Khob said.

The Katima Mulilo Special Court has acquitted a man of killing a lion and trying to sell its teeth. Magistrate Barry Mufana has found that George Chaka admitted to killing a lion with a poisoned cow as bait, in fear he would be refused bail if he did not admit guilt. He found that the 47-year-old Chaka could be correct in saying that someone planted the lion's teeth in his pocket when they were arrested near a local fuel station.

According to the Combatting Wildlife Crime in Namibia Annual Report for 2020, rhino crimes accounted for most arrests during the past year, with 145 suspects having been detained. "A significant number of these were pre-emptive arrests, where suspects were caught before they could kill a rhino. This is not only a highly commendable law enforcement success, but also a very positive conservation outcome. Pre-emptive arrests have directly saved numerous rhinos and will allow the population to continue to multiply," the report stated.

Pangolin was the most trafficked high-value protected species according to the 2020 Annual Report on the Combatting of Wildlife Crime released last week. According to the report, only one pangolin of the 74 seized by the law enforcement agencies was alive while 129 of these nocturnal animals were poached in 2019. The report emphasised that law enforcement relating to pangolin poaching and trafficking represent a major challenge because the animals are largely collected opportunistically. However, transboundary intelligence collaboration has led to the…

The police at Otjiwarongo on Saturday arrested two male suspects after they were allegedly found in possession of a rhino horn without a permit at the Erindi game reserve. The weekend crime report of the Namibian Police Force said the men aged 33 and 60 were arrested during a police operation. The value of the rhino horn is still to be determined and the suspects were expected to appear in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism reports that 14 cases of illegal possession of wildlife products as well as convictions were made between 25 of January to 28 February. Of the 14 cases, eight were for the possession of live pangolins, skins, scales and bones, demonstrating that this nocturnal animal is under serious threat. In Opuwo Tjihepo Tjondo was found guilty on 15 February for possession of one pangolin skin and was ned N$60 000 of which N$3 000 is suspended or six months imprisonment, suspended for three months.

A 27-year-old man suspected to have been a poacher, died instantly in the early hours of Monday after he was allegedly shot in the chest on a game farm near Okakarara. The spokesperson of the Namibian Police Force in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha on Monday said the deceased has been identied as Claudius Hameva from Okakarara.

Namibian law enforcement arrested 121 suspected poachers in three months inside the Etosha National Park with the help of the newly-established anti-poaching K9 unit, the police have said on Wednesday.

In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic and strict government-imposed lockdown have led to an unexpected consequence: a major decline in rhino poaching. More than 80% of African rhinos remaining in the world are in South Africa, making it the hotspot for rhino poaching. The number of rhinos killed for their horns has been slowly declining over recent years, but the pandemic and lockdown have quelled rhino poaching even more.

The Namibian Police arrested a deputy director in the Ministry of Lands at its Gobabis sub-regional office for her role in the alleged illegal hunting of an oryx valued at N$6 000. Mclesia Mbaisa (49) who heads the Division of Land Reform was arrested alongside her brother Marvin Mbaisa (36) and Rudolf Katjiuanjo (35) following the illegal hunting of the wild animal at Heath Bell resettlement farm in the Gobabis district.

Working with WWF in Namibia to raise awareness for the protection of rhinos, Ginger Mauney accompanied a team from Condé Nast China Traveler magazine to share Namibia’s conservation story and to forge a partnership for change that can help to stop the illegal trade in wildlife products.