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.
Explore your search results using the filter checkboxes, or amend your search or start a new search.
To raise awareness for rhino conservation, Namibian-born international model Behati Prinsloo has joined forces with Save The Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT). As part of her alliance with the organisation, she is launching a global campaign and is visiting Namibia this month, entrenching herself in the movement to protect the critically endangered black rhino species and preserve the population.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-05_Behati Prinsloo joins forces with Save the Rhino Trust Namibia_The Namibian.pdf | 315.68 KB |
A man was denied bail on a charge of possession of six elephant tusks yesterday in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-05_Man denied bail for possession of six elephant tusks_The Namibian.pdf | 478.2 KB |
An elderly Chinese man who admitted that he had illegal wildlife products, including a rhinoceros horn, and a firearm in his possession at the start of last year was sentenced to pay fines totalling N$156 000 by the Windhoek Regional Court this week.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-05_Pensioner fined over illegal wildlife products_The Namibian.pdf | 589.65 KB |
The bail application hearing of a man accused of being involved in the killing of a black rhino on a game reserve near Otjiwarongo last month, ended in a deadlock in court on Friday. The 30-year-old Eeno Anguwo was arrested at Omuthiya on 15 April after he was connected to a syndicate of poachers who allegedly shot and killed the rhino bull valued at N$800 000.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-04_Bail application deadlocked_Namibian Sun.pdf | 69.31 KB |
A chance encounter over 35 years ago changed the lives of two women after realising that they share the same passion for wildlife conservation.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-04_Saving Namibias last black rhinos_The Namibian.pdf | 634.86 KB |
There are worrying signs that Namibia's legendary wild game numbers may be plummeting.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-04_Troubled times for Namibian wildlife_The Namibian.pdf | 1002.93 KB |
Four Chinese men, who were originally handed 14-year sentences for wildlife crimes, including rhino horn smuggling, had the shock of their lives when their appeal ended with the High Court also convicting and sentencing them for money laundering.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-04_Appeal backfires_Namibian Sun.pdf | 97.69 KB |
An iron fist should be used against people who commit crimes against endangered wildlife in Namibia, a judge commented in an appeal judgement handed down in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-04_Rhino horn appeal backfires_The Namibian.pdf | 359.41 KB |
The bail application of businessman Petrus Shihepo Shimuningeni who was arrested in February this year for alleged rhino poaching, was turned down in the Outjo Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. Shimuningeni and his four co-accused, aged 25, 26, 27 and 32, appeared before Magistrate Peingondjabi Shipo who denied bail because it is not in the public interest or the interest of the administration of justice for bail to be granted.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-04_Businessman denied bail in rhino poaching case_Namibian Sun.pdf | 82.76 KB |
A bail application hearing for a 35-year-old businessman linked to poached black and white rhinos at a private game farm near Etosha National Park in the Kunene Region is underway in the Outjo Magistrate's Court.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-04_Bail hearing for businessman linked to poached rhinos underway_The Namibian.pdf | 963.21 KB |
A suspected rhino poacher was trampled to death by an elephant and his body devoured by lions in South Africa's Kruger National Park, officials said Monday. South African rangers have recovered the skull of the man in the vast Kruger sanctuary, which has born the brunt of much of the country's poaching crisis. According to a park spokesman, rangers were alerted after the victim's alleged accomplices told his family that he had been crushed to death by an elephant.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2019-04_Rhino poacher crushed by elephant devoured by lions in SA_Namibian Sun.pdf | 91.71 KB |
Namibia was commended for its efforts to address the challenges trafficking in wild fauna and flora pose to the country's natural resources and its social and economic development.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-03_Namibia commended for efforts against fauna and flora trafficking_The Namibian.pdf | 362.73 KB |
Six suspected poachers were arrested in Zambezi region after they were found in possession of four elephant tusks, two elephant tails and one zebra skin yesterday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-03_Six in for possession of tusks_zebra skin_The Namibian.pdf | 284.23 KB |
There are worrying signs that Namibia’s legendary wild game numbers may be plummeting. Four years ago the Namibian Professional Hunters Association raised an alarm about the lack of huntable elephant bulls in the Caprivi region, where the number of communal conservancies had grown from one in 1997 to 15 today.
A wild car chase through the streets of Okahandja that ended in a minor motor vehicle accident resulted in the arrest of the 50-year-old Frieda Goses, a well known stock theft suspect from Otjimbingwe.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-03_Well known stock theft suspect arrested in Okahandja_Informante.pdf | 2.82 MB |
A protected black rhino in the Erongo Mountain Rhino Sanctuary nearly lost a foot after it was caught in a snare set by poachers recently.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-03_Erongo rhino sanctuary targeted_The Namibian.pdf | 186.65 KB |
The Ministry of Environment has recorded nine poaching incidents since January this year, six involving rhinos and three involving elephants, a government spokesperson said last week, as reported by Xinhua. Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Romeo Muyunda, said the poaching incidents mainly occurred in private and custodian farms; no poaching was recorded in the national parks.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-03_Nine poaching cases recorded since January_Namibia Economist.pdf | 2.13 MB |
Officials from the Ministry of Environment assisted by police reservists from Walvis Bay discovered the carcasses of several poached Oryx when they went looking for poachers operating in the Namib Naukluft National Park. According to the official police report provided by Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Gurirab, acting Erongo Regional Crime Investigations Coordinator, a team comprising of environment ministry officials and Namibian Police Reservists, came across three to five suspects, while they were slaughtering illegally hunted Oryx.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-03_Hunt still on for fleeing desert poachers_Informant.pdf | 964.37 KB |
Five farm security guards face a charge of attempted murder after wounding a suspected poacher who was in the process of fleeing from a makeshift camp on a farm near Karibib. According to Deputy Commissioner Erastus Iikuyu, Erongo Regional Crime Investigations Coordinator, the shooting incident occurred early on Thursday morning on the Farm Okondura Nord No. 15 when a group of five farm security guards discovered three suspected poachers in a camp in the bushes.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-02_Security guards face a charge of attempted murder_Informante.pdf | 617.24 KB |
Countries that make up the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA) need to provide for specialist prosecutors that have knowledge about all wildlife crime-related legislation and the appropriate prosecution of offenders. This was the view of deputy environment minister Bernadette Jagger at the KAZA-TFCA Regional Judiciary and Prosecutors Workshop that is taking place in Windhoek.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
2019_02_Trans_boundary wildlife crime training_Environment_Namibian Sun.pdf | 112.79 KB |
The six men who were caught red handed with the carcass of a kudu they stole from a pack of African Wild dogs after killing two and wounding one of the nearly extinct carnivores made their first appearance in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court and were all set free on bail during court proceedings.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-02_NAC meat thieves set free on bail_Informante.pdf | 1.96 MB |
Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta says some of the 120 suspects arrested last year for wildlife crimes were repeat offenders who were out on bail for similar crimes. “It is discouraging when a suspect is arrested for a crime today and the next day commits the same crime again. We do not want to tell justice what to do, but a repeat offender should not be let out on bail,” Shifeta said yesterday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-02_No bail for repeat offenders_Namibian Sun.pdf | 87.18 KB |
A resident of the Kunene region whose attempt to poach a rhinoceros in Etosha National Park ended in the death of his partner in crime and his own arrest, was sentenced to an effective fine of N$34 000 or eight years' imprisonment on Friday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-02_Etosha poacher gets fines or eight years in jail_The Namibian.pdf | 662.47 KB |
About 45 members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Africa rhino specialist group yesterday met at Okahandja to discuss ways to curb rhino poaching.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-02_African rhino specialists work to curb poaching_The Namibian.pdf | 535.13 KB |
A medical doctor who was arrested for the illegal possession of elephant tusks has been granted bail in the amount of N$50 000 during a brief appearance in the Windhoek magistrate’s court. Dr. Thomas van Wyk handed himself over to the police after his friends informed the police that he had three tusks at his Auasblick home. The 44-year-old Van Wyk is employed as a medical doctor at the Namibia Oncology Centre in Windhoek. He has over 15 years of experience in a variety of medical fields.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-01_Doctor freed on bail_Informante.pdf | 524.84 KB |
A Windhoek oncologist has been granted N$50 000 bail by the Windhoek Magistrate's Court after he was arrested at the weekend for the illegal possession of three elephant tusks.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-01_Oncologist granted N$50 000 bail_Namibian Sun.pdf | 100.17 KB |
The story of Namibia's rhino poaching is a tale often told in black and white. There are villains, there are victims and there are the activists loudly lamenting our rhinos' imminent extinction.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-01_Local Film Baxu and the Giants Seeks Support_Stars_The Namibian.pdf | 428.31 KB |
Two suspected poachers were arrested on Friday in the Zambezi region for being in possession of zebra meat without a permit.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2019-01_Two suspected zebra poachers arrested_The Namibian.pdf | 505.17 KB |
The Chinese national who was arrested last month at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg after being caught with 18 rhino horns in his luggage has been denied bail. Ye Zhiwei, 28, appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate''s Court in South Africa on Tuesday on a charge of dealing in rhino horn under the Endangered Spices Act. South African Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu confirmed to Namibian Sun that Ye was denied bail and that his case was postponed to 17 January for disclosure of evidence and for further investigation.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2016-12_No bail for accused rhino horn smuggler_Namibian Sun.pdf | 68.25 KB |
South African police raided an illegal Vietnamese lion and tiger bone syndicate operating in the North West at the weekend, after at least 40 lions were reportedly killed at a lion farm near Klerksdorp. According to Hawks spokesperson captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, six foreigners and two South African men were nabbed in the multi-disciplinary operation conducted by members of the Potchefstroom Crime Intelligence unit, the Hawks and the Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp flying squads units.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
SA_2018-12_Eight arrested for cutting up lions in North West_The Namibian.pdf | 547.01 KB |
FOUR Chinese nationals serving a 14-year jail term have approached the high court this week to appeal the sentence as it was "too severe", according to their lawyers. Wang Hui, 43, Li Zhibing, 57, Pu Xuexin, 53 and Li Xiaoliang, 34 tried to smuggle 14 rhino horns and a leopard skin out of Namibia in 2014. How they managed to get through security detection machines at the Hosea Kutako International Airport is to date a mystery.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-12_Chinese smugglers want lesser sentence_Informante.pdf | 517.97 KB |
A new project was launched last week that will assist Namibia in its efforts to fight wildlife crime. The International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit was launched by environment minister Pohamba Shifeta last week at a workshop organised by the Anti-Corruption Commission. The project provides the technical resources to assist governments in conducting a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a country's response to wildlife crime.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-12_Toolkit to fight wildlife crime_Namibian Sun.pdf | 111.66 KB |
If rhino owners are not allowed to harvest and legally sell horns, poachers will kill every last rhino in Namibia. This is according to environment minister Pohamba Shifeta, who was speaking last week at a meeting where the poaching situation in the country was discussed. Shifeta said the price of a rhino horn has skyrocketed and is currently about N$900 000 per kilogram. "It is going up every day." He said if rhino range countries could sell rhino horns, the price will go down because the demand would still be there.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-12_Poachers will kill every single rhino_Namibian Sun.pdf | 92.49 KB |
The Blue Rhino Taskforce has had phenomenal success in tracking down poaching syndicates in the four months of its existence.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-11_Elite unit nails 73 poachers_Crime - Namibian Sun.pdf | 97.94 KB |
A dehorned carcass of a rhino suspected to have been shot by poachers in the Hardap region was found on Saturday.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-11_Rhino killed another wounded in Hardap_The Namibian.pdf | 179.07 KB |
The Namibia Chamber of Environment has made a call for the legalisation of trade in rhino horn. Calls to legalise rhino horn trade in Namibia are growing louder in an effort to save the species from annihilation, particularly after China partly lifted its already weakly implemented 25-year ban on the use of rhino horn and tiger bones in traditional medicines. In a letter to members and affiliates last week, Namibia Chamber of Environment (NCE) CEO Chris Brown warned that the demand for animal products such as rhino horn, ivory, pangolin scales, tiger and lion bones will…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-11_Calls for legal horn trade_Namibian Sun.pdf | 75.18 KB |
The High Court has granted permission to four Chinese nationals to appeal against their 14-year prison sentences for trying to smuggle 14 rhino horns and a leopard skin out of Namibia. The permission was granted on Tuesday when Li Zhibing, 53, Li Xiaoliang, 30, Pu Xuexin, 49, and Wang Hui, 40, appeared before Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula. The four men were arrested between March and May 2014 in what has been termed Namibia’s largest rhino-horn-smuggling case. The men were each sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment by Windhoek Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt at…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-11_Smugglers may appeal against sentences_Namibian Sun.pdf | 63.58 KB |
The human rights organisation says citizens are unsafe in police custody. Human rights organisation NamRights says it is becoming increasingly alarmed by widespread allegations of torture and other cruel treatment of ordinary citizens by the Namibian police and other law-enforcement agencies. The executive director of NamRights, Phil Ya Nangoloh, says the organisation has reasonable cause to believe that there is evidence that citizens in general are no longer safe in police custody.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-10_Alleged police brutality alarming_Namibian Sun.pdf | 84.28 KB |
Namibia's environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has urged for a review on the blanket ban on the trade of wildlife products, including rhino horns and ivory, in order to better curb the poaching epidemic threatening the survival of high-value species. Speaking at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London last week, Shifeta told delegates Namibia believes that "banning any trade in products will not necessarily achieve the outcome of stopping the demand and illegal trade. This has not been successful with alcohol, drugs and indeed, rhino horn, pangolin scales and ivory…
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-10_Namibia calls for review on wildlife trade ban_Namibian Sun.pdf | 90.24 KB |
Katima Mulilio - Three people were arrested for poaching at Masokotwani in the Zambezi region on Tuesday morning. The three men, two Namibians and one Zambian, were found in possession of three reed bucks and three duikers around 03h00.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-10_Three arrested for poaching at Masokotwani_The Namibian.pdf | 173.97 KB |
The World Rhino Day was first celebrated by WWF South Africa in 2010. Since then the world has followed suit to spread awareness of the need to save the five species of rhino. Namibia celebrated the day on 22 September at Khorixas with deputy environment minister Bernadette Jagger officiating.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-09_Youth urged to protect Namibias rhino_The Namibian.pdf | 416.12 KB |
While about 1 200 rhinos in Namibia are now in private care, the country is still experiencing high levels of poaching, with 29 rhinos poached this year already.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-09_1 200 rhinos in private care_Namibian Sun.pdf | 102.74 KB |
The environment ministry's new anti-poaching dog unit has already recorded several successes, which includes apprehending a poacher in the Etosha National Park. This happened during the dogs' first operation, just 16 days after their handlers started training with them.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-09_Dogs on the trail of poachers_Namibian Sun.pdf | 140.57 KB |
The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) last week held a training workshop on wildlife crime for 16 representatives of the legal fraternity, police officers and park wardens from the environment ministry.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-09_LAC trains legal fraternity on wildlife crime_Namibian Sun.pdf | 105.74 KB |
The environment ministry last week inaugurated the dog unit that will be used for wildlife protection and law-enforcement.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-09_Dog unit for wildlife protection launched_The Namibian.pdf | 331.44 KB |
Police are clamping down on poachers, with two police busts leading to the arrest of an alleged poaching gang found in possession of rhino horns and another man attempting to smuggle ten elephant tusks. Police at the Divundu police checkpoint arrested two men driving a white BMW in the early hours of Thursday morning after they were found in possession of three rhino horns. They were identified as Liebelo Erick Manja (31) and Aldrian Masule Musisanyani (41), and both were charged with possession of controlled wildlife products.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-09_Three men arrested for rhino horns_Namibian Sun.pdf | 61.95 KB |
Outrage greeted the early release of notorious Thai trafficker Chumlong Lemtongthai, who used false South African hunting permits to launder rhino horns. Simon Bloch reports.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
Oxpeckers_Fury at release of rhino pseudo-hunt kingpin.pdf | 241.77 KB |
The minister of environment and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, this week hosted a public discussion about rhino and elephant poaching at Ongwediva. It was highlighted that perpetrators of such crimes are part of Namibian society and are sometimes hidden by members of the community. The discussion was part of an information-sharing session by the ministry at the Ongwediva Trade Fair in the Oshana Region.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2016-09_Community members hide poachers_Namibian Sun.pdf | 100.2 KB |
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
NAM_2018-08_N$10k per day to keep a rhino_Namibian Sun.pdf | 109.34 KB |
Oscar Nkala talks to a jailed Zambian elephant poacher about the structure, financing and operations of cross-border smuggling gangs.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
Oxpeckers_Confessions of an ivory poacher.pdf | 244.99 KB |