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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Three suspects were shot and fatally wounded in a shootout with police in the early hours of Wednesday, 31 January 2024. Police received intelligence that a group involved in serious crimes including murders committed in the Inanda area were hiding at the Lungelani Informal Settlement in La Mercy. A team comprising of various police disciplines including members of the Hawks descended on the location. Realising that they were surrounded, the suspects opened fire at the police and a shootout ensued.
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SA_2024_31_Three suspects fatally wounded in a shootout with police _SAPS.pdf | 101.56 KB |
Police arrest six suspected rhino poachers in Limpopo and Gauteng; recover horns, guns and ammunition.
Katima Mulilo - Three individuals, Nyambe Calvin Matomola, John Mwelwa, and Nziye Lusinyize, have been brought before the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court for alleged possession of controlled wildlife products. The trio was apprehended with a total of 39 elephant tusks, leading to their court appearance on Tuesday. Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, revealed that Matomola, along with seven Zambian nationals, was caught with 24 tusks after smuggling them into Namibia via the Zambezi Region.
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ZAM_2024_30_Katima Mulilo Court Trials for Elephant Tusk Possession_Namibia News Digest.pdf | 25.4 KB |
Two businessmen and a farmer of Lusaka have been taken to court for illegal possession of a live pangolin, one of the most tracked mammal in the world, valued at over K23, 000. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy, while their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine as they are believed to treat a range of ailments from asthma to rheumatism and arthritis.
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ZAM_2024_30_Three found with a live pangolin_held_Mwebantu.pdf | 206.88 KB |
It's not rocket science. Harsher sentences - both locally and abroad - need to be dished out to those who poach rhinos for their horns, or smuggle those horns to other countries. The South African government reported 448 rhinos were killed across the country in 2022 - just three fewer than the previous year. It's welcoming to hear a Singapore court on Friday sentenced Gumede Sthembiso Joel, a 33- year-old South African man, to two years in jail for smuggling rhino horns. It was the heaviest sentence handed down by the city state for trafcking wildlife parts.
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SA_2024_29_Harsh jail sentences way to end war on rhino poaching_The Citizen.pdf | 231.65 KB |
One of Algoa Bay’s most valuable resources is being poached and plundered at an alarming rate. Nelson Mandela Bay has experienced a string of perlemoen-related incidents over the past few days, with experts in the field saying the illegal trade of this protected shellfish is now at an all-time high.
In a crucial operation towards wildlife protection, a Mozambican national has been arrested at Namwera, Mangochi, charged with the illegal possession of a protected wildlife species. The arrest, a serious violation of section 110(b) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, signifies the ongoing fight against wildlife trafficking, a crime increasingly crossing national boundaries and threatening global biodiversity. Caught in the act was 26-year-old Moses Paul Banda, a Mozambican citizen.
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MOZ_2024_19_Mozambican Arrested for Wildlife Trafficking_A Global Issue_BNN Breaking_Com.pdf | 190.58 KB |
Two men are expected to appear in the Vryheid magistrate's court after they were arrested with two rhino horns and a rie hidden in their car's engine compartment. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lt-Col Nqobile Gwala said ofcers acted on information about the suspects and spotted their vehicle on the R34 travelling towards Vryheid and a high-speed chase ensued.
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SA_2024_19_Police arrest two men with rhino horns after high_speed car chase_Timeslive.pdf | 414.61 KB |
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ZIM_2024_01_Zimbabwe_Trio arrested for poaching_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 90.15 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 |
Three Hurungwe men who captured themselves on camera killing an elephant using traditional weapons and dogs yesterday appeared before Kariba magistrate accused of hunting or removing any animal or part of the animal in a safari area without a permit. Francis Chigomararwa (30), Simeon Kezias (23) and Arthur Murimbika (24) all from Nyamakate area are also facing another charge of killing a buffalo.The accused were unlucky when a video went viral of them killing an elephant after setting their dogs on it before attacking it using spears and axes.
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ZIM_2024_16_Trio arrested for poaching_Newsday Zimbabwe.pdf | 191.01 KB |
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NAM_2024_01_SRT volg eenvoudige benadering tot stropery_Republikein.pdf | 224.82 KB |
NAM_2024_01_SRT takes simple approach to poaching_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 225.05 KB |
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NAM_SRT challenges military style approach to poaching_Namibian Sun.pdf | 457.63 KB |
Bei Outjo mehren sich weiterhin die Vorfälle von Kriminalität auf Farmen. Wie Rolf Wagner und Erika Zamzow von der Farm Moselle gegenüber der AZ berichteten, haben Unbekannte im vergangenen Dezember Solarinstallationen und Pumpen von fünf Wasserstellen der Farm gestohlen. Die Farm arbeite eng mit der Anti-Wilderei-Einheit Nyime zusammen, die die Diebe "über fast 30 Kilometer bis zur Teerstraße Outjo-Khorixas verfolgt" hätten. Die Diebe seien nicht gefasst, aber nahezu alle gestohlenen Teile sichergestellt worden.
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NAM_2024_01_Diebstaehle bei Farmen um Outjo_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 303.47 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Thefts from farms around Outjo_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 304.72 KB |
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NAM_2024_01_Nashornschutz auf andere Weise_ Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 295.45 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Rhino protection in a different way_Allgemeine Zeitung_Eng.pdf | 294.38 KB |
Die 49-jarige Leon Schiffer het Maandag in die landdroshof op Maltahöhe verskyn. Hy word van stropery in die Namib-Naukluft Nasionale Park (in die Sesriem-distrik) aangekla. Luidens verlede naweek se polisieverslag is Schiffer op 5 Januarie omstreeks 10:00 saam met nog 'n verdagte (32) in hegtenis geneem - volgens inligting van die landdroskantoor in Maltahöhe was dit 'n sekere "Gariseb". Die twee het glo nege gemsbokke gestroop.
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NAM_2024_01_Beweerde stropery in Namib Naukluft_Republikein.pdf | 223.95 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Alleged poaching in Namib Naukluft_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 245.02 KB |
Dit gaan baie goed met Venasha, die renosterkalfie wat in Oktober 2022 by die Rhino Momma-projek aangekom het, nadat sy deur haar ma verwerp is. Volgens Juliette Erdtsieck, haar versorger van die afgelope 19 maande, bly Venasha onder meer saam met drie renosterkoeie en hul kalwers in 'n kamp. "Sy word nou regtig baie groot en is 'n regte renoster! Sy het op 26 November haar laaste bottel melk gekry en aan die einde van die jaar is sy na die groot kamp verskuif," sê Juliette. Die Rhino Momma-projek in Namibië het in 2022 in een maand twee wees-renosterkalfies gekry.
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NAM_2024_01_Venasha_die renoster blom_Republikein.pdf | 226.3 KB |
NAM_2024_01_Venasha_The rhino flower_Republikein_Eng.pdf | 454.95 KB |
Botswana and Namibia have embarked on a joint investigation into the increased incidents of elephant poaching in the northern part of Botswana. "The country (Botswana) experienced a surge in elephant poaching incidents during November and December 2023," Lesego Kgomanyane, the spokesperson for Botswana's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, told Xinhua over the telephone, noting that the development has shone the light on the apparent increase in poaching of elephants in northern Botswana.