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Namibian authorities are investigating a surge in rhino poaching that has seen 28 rhinos poached already this year, two-thirds of them in the Southern African country's flagship Etosha National Park. It was particularly concerning that 19 rhinos were poached in Etosha this year, given the park is a focus for conservation efforts and a major international tourist attraction, the environment ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Joseph Nyalungu, popularly known as Big Joe, is accused of involvement in rhino poaching in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The charges against him include possession of rhino horns, poaching, and money laundering.

The defence attorney in the case against a former police officer accused of being a rhino poaching kingpin has disputed that their client has 12 pending cases.

Namibia strengthened its anti-poaching drive by launching two rhino preservation plans and a horse patrol unit at the country's Etosha National Park on Friday. Speaking at the commemoration of World Rhino Day, which falls on 22 September every year, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta said the day is dedicated to raising awareness of the threats facing the rhino population, and how the world can come together to protect these endangered species.

South Africa has lost 231 rhinos to poaching since the beginning of the year.

As the globe observes World Rhino Day, South Africa has lost 231 rhinos to poaching since the beginning of the year.

As the international community marks World Rhino Day on Friday, South Africa and other parts of the African continent are still facing the challenge of rhino poaching. The International Rhino Foundation says poachers have shifted their focus from the larger rhino populations to smaller, and possibly more susceptible ones. In South Africa, poachers are focusing on smaller areas, like the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve, which has borne the brunt of South Africa’s rhino poaching deaths in the past year. While Namibia, home to the…

There are around 26 000 rhinos left in the world. 68% of those live in South Africa. By far the majority of them are Southern White Rhinos, which are particularly vulnerable to poaching, because most of them are found in the open Savannah of national parks, making them easy targets. There are four other remaining species of rhino. The Black Rhino, of which there are around 6000, is found in southern and east Africa. The other African species, the Northern White Rhino, is effectively extinct, as the two remaining are both female.

In a bid to strengthen safety and curb poaching in the country's national parks, SANParks, has added a small surveillance aircraft to its anti-poaching arsenal at the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape. The aircraft was donated by mining giant Anglo American Platinum. The park says the small aircraft will be used to curb poaching and maintain biodiversity. A Senior Section Ranger at Addo Elephant National Park, Anban Padayachee, says hunting and abalone poaching is very rife in the park.

Otjiwarongo - A carcass of a female black rhino was discovered with a bullet wound in the stomach, on 18 August 2023 at a waterhole inside a game farm in the Grootfontein district of the Otjozondjupa region.

Oshikoto - The environment ministry has raised concern over the increase in cases, arrests, convictions and seizures relating to plants in Namibia. The ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda told Nampa last week that plants provide the broad primary production layer for healthy environments, but their vital function is often overlooked. He said seizures of plant products have been significant, considering that these related to 22 arrests in 2022.

An adult male was on Friday arrested by the Namibian police after he was found to be transporting game meat (a hippopotamus carcass) at Katere village in the Ndiyona constituency, Kavango East region. The suspect is due to face charges of illegal transportation and possession of game meat.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment says 231 rhinos have been killed thus far this year in South Africa. This figure is from 1 January to 30 June 2023.

A third suspect has been arrested in Rustenburg, in the North West, for the theft of 51 rhino horns from the offices of the North West Parks and Tourism in Mahikeng last month. The SABC reported at the time that the alleged criminals evaded all security on the premises and took the keys to the safe, from which they stole the horns worth R9 million. Spokesperson for the Hawks in the province, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula, says, "The suspect is due to appear in the Mahikeng Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he will be facing a business burglary charge."

An Otjozondjupa police intelligence-led operation caused the successful arrest of a soldier and farm worker, who were separately caught red-handed with controlled wildlife products worth a combined amount of almost N$200 000. At Grootfontein's Build Together location, police shared that a 49-year-old female member of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) was on Sunday caught with a live pangolin, worth N$50 000. The suspect is a corporal officer in the army, stationed at the Grootfontein Military Base.

Self-proclaimed prophet and founder of the House of Joy Ministries Jackson Babi has turned to the High Court to appeal his 27 years imprisonment sentence for rhino poaching in Gobabis. In his notice of appeal, filed in the Windhoek High Court on Monday, Babi (33) is claiming the sentence of 27 years imprisonment imposed on him by Gobabis Regional Court magistrate Eden Iyambo is shockingly inappropriate. He claims Iyambo overemphasised the seriousness of the offences at the expense of the mitigating circumstances.

Police in Zambezi region are investigating a case of hunting of specially protected game and theft of elephant tusks after a decomposed elephant was discovered. It is alleged that unknown suspect(s) poached and killed an elephant, and removed its tusks between 16 to 22 April 2023 near Dzudzo farming area in Dzoti conservancy of Zambezi region. "A decomposed carcass was recovered at Dzudzo area on Friday, 28 April 2023 and it seemed to have been killed two weeks back from the date of recovery. The elephant is valued at N$29 000," the police said no arrest has been made yet.

An environment and tourism official was arrested with three other men for illegally hunting a protected blue wildebeest in the Daan Viljoen game park, west of Windhoek. They were arrested on Tuesday at the roadblock, west of Windhoek, leading to the game park. The suspects, including the official in uniform, were nabbed with a whole carcass of the wildebeest in the boot of their sedan. Blue wildebeest are classified as protected and endangered species in Namibia. The official is said to be stationed at the park as an assistant game ranger for the environment ministry.

Vietnamese authorities have over the past week seized more than 600 kilograms of ivory smuggled from Africa, the government said on Monday. Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread. Other items often found smuggled into the country include pangolin scales, rhino horns and tiger carcasses. Customs authorities in the northern port city of Haiphong on Monday found nearly 130 kilograms of ivory hidden in a container of cow horns originated from Africa, the government said in a statement.

The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached an all-time high last year after 87 animals were killed compared to 45 in 2021, official government data showed on Monday. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said poachers killed 61 black and 26 white rhinos mainly in Namibia's largest park, Etosha, where 46 rhinos were found dead.

The environment and tourism ministry has said rhino poaching remains a serious concern with 87 rhinos poached in 2022, consisting of 61 black rhinos and 26 white rhinos. The ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, yesterday said the 2022 poaching cases include 15 rhinos poached on rhino custodianship farms, another 25 on white rhino private farms and a majority of 46 were killed in the Etosha National Park.

The US Treasury Department and South Africa's National Treasury on Wednesday agreed to form a task force to combat illicit finance linked to the illegal wildlife trade, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. Speaking at the Dinokeng Game Reserve outside Pretoria, Yellen told South African officials that the new task force aims to boost information sharing between the two country's financial intelligence units and to strengthen controls to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

A suspect in a poaching case was gunned down by police officers on Saturday after three men allegedly hunted down a rhinoceros at farm Okarakua in the Windhoek district. One man, aged 27, was arrested, while a third suspect is still at large. Subsequently, a murder case was opened against the anti-poaching unit officers.

The Namibian Police in Mukwe constituency in the Kavango East region on Friday arrested a 31-year-old man after he was found in possession of controlled wildlife products - two elephant tusks. The suspect, who is now due for court, was arrested at buffalo checkpoint in the Mukwe constituency during a police special operation on Friday afternoon at around 19h00. The suspect will appear in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 16 January.

The environment and tourism ministry says even though it continues to record successes in its fight against wildlife crime, poaching of highly valued species remains a concern. Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda over the weekend said 63 rhinos have been poached in the country this year alone. This includes 41 black rhinos and 22 white rhinos. This year’s poaching cases include 15 rhinos poached on custodianship farms, another 22 on private farms and 26 in the Etosha National Park.

The police in the Khomas region are investigating three cases of murder in which three male persons aged between 24 and 30 were shot dead on Sunday and yesterday. According to the brief reports shared by the police regional community affairs Silas Shipandeni, the police are investigating the matter in which two suspected poachers were shot at Farm Hoffnung No 66, in the Windhoek District on Sunday around 17h00. Shipandeni indicated that an unknown man was fatally wounded and died on the spot while the other one was injured on the left thigh.

Director of Intelligence at the Wildlife Justice Commission Sarah Stoner is calling for wildlife crime to be recognised as transnational crime and not simply as a conservation issue. According to Stoner, "Our analysis found that rhino horn is most often smuggled with no concealment at all so around 1/3 of horns that were seized in the last 10 years indicate there was no attempt to hide the contraband in the shipment.

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.

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.

Self-proclaimed prophet and founder of the House of Joy Ministries Jackson Babi was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on Friday for rhino poaching. On Friday, Gobabis magistrate Eden Iyambo sentenced Babi when he found him guilty on 19 charges related to illegally hunting protected animals. On two counts of hunting of specially protected game, which had an alternative count of conspiracy to hunt, the court sentenced the "prophet" to three years of direct imprisonment for each count. However, on top of the sentence, the court ordered Babi to pay a fine of N$100 000 for each count…

Three Namibian male suspects aged 26, 30 and 33 are due in court after they were arrested on Saturday night in Kavango West for illegal possession of a live pangolin and two elephant tusks.

Uitkoms - As the population of Farm Uitkoms grows, crimes and social ills such as poaching, stock theft and drug and alcohol abuse are skyrocketing. Farm Uitkoms, housing mainly marginalised Namibians some 160km north-east of Okahandja, is seen as the epitome of self-sustainability in terms of government resettlement efforts. In 2008, retired veteran politician Dr Libertina Amathila, who at the time held the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister, vigorously spearheaded a campaign that saw the marginalised San community resettled at this farm.

The Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, has called on members of conservancies to refrain from poaching and misuse of funds. Furthermore, he stated the ministry has unearthed a possible syndicate of poaching, involving conservancy members.

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has redeployed retired police commander Ndahangwapo Kashihakumwa to lead anti-poaching efforts in the Etosha National Park. The national park has been hard-hit by poachers in recent weeks, including the discovery of 11 rhino carcasses.

Namibia will soon make use of DNA analysis in forensic investigations into animal abuse and crimes such as illegal smuggling, poaching and the illegal trade in protected species. Using DNA analysis will make it possible to identify the species and geographical origin, such as the population of a forensic sample, and to also individualise the sample with high levels of probability. Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga this week announced that the capacitation of the new National Forensic Science Institute of Namibia is at an advanced stage.

Ongwediva - A daring raid inside Namibia's most popular and well-protected national parks by poachers left a suspect and a police officer fighting for their lives. The attempt by poachers was foiled by police on Thursday around 04h40 and two suspected poachers were arrested. When the police approached, the would-be poachers opened fire on the security personnel resulting in the officers responding with more fire. A 19-old-year old suspected poacher and a 37-year-old police officer were injured during the exchange of fire.

Forestry officials in Kavango West have seized about 4 000 planks from illegal timber harvesters at some recently allocated farms with no government leaseholds in the Katji-na-Katji area. A forestry patrol team discovered the illegal operation deep in the forest where planks and a timber cutting machine was confiscated. Two suspects were apprehended.

A 41-year-old South African national has appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on Monday after a dead python was found in the truck he was driving. According to the Khomas police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Silas Shipandeni, Ayanda Gxoyiyana was arrested at the Windhoek-Okahandja roadblock after the police pulled him over for a routine search and found a freshly killed python in his truck's toolbox.

Rundu - The Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy in the Mashare constituency of Kavango East is facing a crisis of illegal tree harvesting. At one crime scene, about 86 logs of illegally harvested Kiaat timber, scientifically known as Pterocarpus Angolensis, were found and 10 at another by conservancy members who were

At farm Otjirukaku on the B8 road, a 23-year-old male was shot and wounded allegedly by a farmer while attempting to poach wildlife on the property. The victim’s friend managed to flee the scene unharmed. The victim is currently hospitalised in a local hospital and his condition is stable, according to the authorities.

Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo have seized $3.5 million worth of ivory, rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales in a joint operation with United States officials, the U.S. embassy in Kinshasa said on Monday. Two wildlife traffickers were also arrested in the United States on Nov. 4, following a more than two-year investigation between the two countries and global police agency Interpol.

Some anti-poaching organizations are calling upon the justice system to strengthen punishment against those found guilty of rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking. This comes after the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment recently released statistics indicating that rhino poaching incidents committed in the country within the first six months of the year have increased by 33% compared to last year, during the same period. Nature conservationists say the rhino is among the endangered species, not only in South Africa and the African continent but across the…

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.

Namibia has lost nine rhinos to poaching in various national parks this year, according to the environment ministry. The statistics show three black, and six white rhinos were poached this year alone. The three black rhinos were killed in the Etosha National Park, while six rhinos were poached for their horns at private-owned white rhino reserves. Environment spokesperson Romeo Muyunda also issued national elephant poaching statistics per year from 2014 to 2021.

Rundu - A 30-year-old man, who was arrested through a police sting operation on Saturday at Zigizi village in Kavango West, was granted bail of N$3 000 for alleged possession and dealing in pangolin scales when he appeared in court yesterday.

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.

Two suspects, aged 19 and 48, who were found allegedly in possession of 19 rhino horns, are expected to appear at the Nelspruit Magistrate’s court in Mpumalanga, on Thursday. The horns are estimated to have a value of R2.6 million.

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

An attempt by the defence of self-proclaimed prophet and founder of the House of Joy Ministries Jackson Babi to have his case provisionally withdrawn, fell flat when the court denied the request. Babi's lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji requested that his client's case be provisionally withdrawn and consequently have Babi released from custody while the State waits for the prosecutor general to pronounce herself in the matter. "The State has failed to inform the court that they failed twice to provide the decision. Now, two months later, the decision is still not available," said Siyomunji…