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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.

Displaying results 1 - 50 of 57
Saturday, 31 July 2021
Chingarande D 2021. Pangolin scales land 3 in court. NewsDay Zimbabwe

Three people have been arrested after they were found selling pangolin scales.

Saturday, 31 July 2021
Haynes D 2021. South African rhino poaching increased 50% this year, still lower than before pandemic.

There was a 50% increase in the number of rhinoceroses killed in the first six months of 2021 in South Africa compared to the same period last year, but the figure is still lower than pre-pandemic years, the country's government announced Saturday. Barbara Creecy, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, said 249 rhinos have been poached for their horns from Jan. 1 through the end of June. That's up from the 166 poached in the same time period in 2020, but still a marked decline from 2019, which saw 318 rhino poaching.

Saturday, 31 July 2021
2021. Rhino poaching update as SA pays tribute to brave and fallen rangers.

Minister of Environment Barbara Creecy today released the latest rhino poaching statistics for South Africa, whilst also paying tribute to SANParks' rangers, including those rangers who tragically died over the past year. Minister of Environment Barbara Creecy today released the latest rhino poaching statistics for South Africa, whilst also paying tribute to SANParks’ rangers, including those rangers who tragically died over the past year.

Thursday, 29 July 2021
2021. Zimbabwe: Seven armed robbers, poachers arrested.

"Meanwhile, on July 25, 2021 at Chatseka area, Mutawatawa, Murewa, police also arrested Joseph Kabunze (67), Perfect Kabunze (29), Chatseka Mapuranga (39) and Makwanya Kahwiti (29) for unlawful possession of ivory." The arrest led to the recovery of 4 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 12,5kg valued at US$2 635.

Thursday, 29 July 2021
Froneman A 2021. Pregnant pangolin rescued from suspected poaching, safely released.

A pregnant Temminck's pangolin was rescued from suspected poaching and handed over to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital recently. The Hospital stated that she was 'retrieved from a community handover' through a collaborative effort between the African Pangolin Working Group, South African Police Service (APWG), Endangered Species and Stock Theft Unit, and the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism.

Thursday, 29 July 2021
Kandovazu E 2021. Prophet Babi remanded in custody.

Prophet Jackson Babi has been remanded in custody again after High Court Judge Harald January dismissed his bail appeal. The judge did not make available the full judgment, saying it will only be available later after it has been edited. Babi has been in custody since last year after he was arrested on poaching charges.

Wednesday, 28 July 2021
2021. SANParks and Greater Kruger partners to strengthen their anti-poaching approach.

SANParks and security partners in the Greater Kruger Region are jointly implementing a range of interventions as part of an integrated wildlife management approach to counter the effects of wildlife crime, in particular rhino poaching.

Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Kandovazu E 2021. Babi's bail appeal judgment is not ready.

Judgement in the matter where Prophet Jackson Babi is appealing a decision that denied him bail will be handed own later this week. Babi is appealing a judgment handed down by a magistrate in the lower court.

Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Ndlovu B 2021. Four men suspected to be poachers arrested after being found with elephant tusks.

Four suspected poachers have been arrested after being found in possession of elephant tusks worth nearly US$3 000.

Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Hattingh E 2021. Stryd teen olifantstropery werp vrugte af.

Hoewel niemand nog in hegtenis geneem is in verband met die vier olifante wat vanjaar in Namibië gestroop is nie, toon Namibië oor die afgelope agt jaar 'n sterk afname in die stroping van dié bosreuse. Volgens syfers wat deur die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme bygehou word, blyk dit dat olifantstropery jaarliks verminder. Terwyl daar in 2016 tot bykans 101 olifante gestroop is, was dit in 2019 en 2020 onderskeidelik net 13 en 12 olifante.

Tuesday, 27 July 2021
2021. Elefanten- und Nashornwilderei nimmt über die Jahre ab.

Environment Ministry press secretary Romeo Muyunda announced the latest rhino and ivory poaching figures yesterday. According to this, the safety of the animals has improved somewhat over the past few years.

Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Smit E 2021. Poaching numbers drop.

This year to date only four elephants have been poached in comparison to the 12 elephants that were poached last year. In 2014, when poaching started to increase in Namibia, 78 elephants were killed, peaking at 101 poached elephants in 2016.

Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Nakale A 2021. Nine rhinos poached in 2021.

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.

Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Muyamba J 2021. N$3 000 bail for selling pangolin scales to cop.

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.

Monday, 26 July 2021
2021. Enhancing wildlife crime journalism with data.

New Oxpeckers professional support programme boosts wildlife crime reporting in Southern Africa with data-driven tools and journalist training.

Monday, 26 July 2021
Reuters T 2021. Rhino and elephant poaching declines in Namibia.

Rhino and elephant poaching has declined significantly this year in Namibia, home to the only free-roaming black rhinos left in the world, government data showed on Monday. Nine rhinos have been illegally killed by hunters so far in 2021, the lowest number in eight years for the period, according to the figures from the ministry of environment and tourism. Four elephants have been killed this way, a five-year low

Sunday, 25 July 2021
Boois C 2021. Poacher caught red-handed at agricultural college farm.

A 29-year-old male suspect was arrested in the Rehoboth constituency on charges of illegal hunting and possession of game meat without a permit. Crime investigation coordinator of the Namibian Police in the Hardap region deputy commissioner Eric Clay confirmed the arrest. The suspect is charged with illegal poaching after he was found in possession of a gemsbok worth N$8 000 and a warthog worth N$2 500. It is not clear if the animals were still alive.

Sunday, 25 July 2021
Kayula P 2021. Rhino poaching worsens in Africa.

Poaching has risen sharply in the recent years across Africa, fueled by rising demand in Asia for ivory and rhino horns, coveted as traditional medicine and a status symbol and acquisition and adaptation of advanced technologies in the fight against poachers is not yielding the desired results.

Friday, 23 July 2021
Hattingh E 2021. Stropers met sewe olifanttande gearresteer.

Twee mense is op Katima Mulilo en Kahenge met altesaam sewe olifanttande in hul besit betrap, terwyl nog twee mense gevang is toe hulle onderskeidelik luislangvelle en krokodilvelle van die hand wou sit.

Two people were caught on Katima Mulilo and Kahenge with a total of seven elephant tusks in their possession, while two more people were caught trying to dispose of python skins and crocodile skins respectively.

Friday, 23 July 2021
Francke R-L 2021. Eastern Cape suspect busted with abalone worth over R3.7 million .

Cape Town - Police in the Eastern Cape have arrested a 38-year-old suspect and confiscated abalone with an approximate street value of R3.7 million.

Friday, 23 July 2021
2021. AB Steyn and Dawie Groenewald released on bail at the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court.

The men were arrested on Wednesday afternoon for the illegal possession of 19 rhino horns.

Friday, 23 July 2021
Gomes M 2021. Quissama Park tops list of poaching cases.

The Quissama National Park, in Luanda province, has been the preferred area for the practice of poaching of various species there, informed, on Wednesday, the coordinator of the Project to Combat the Illegal Trade of Wildlife and Human Conflict and Wildlife in Angola.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Sithole S 2021. Jealous man plants ivory in ex-wife's toilet.

A plot by a jealous Guruve man to get his ex-wife and her boyfriend imprisoned by planting ivory on her hit a snag after he was arrested for possession of ivory.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Routh R 2021. Rhino horn accused bail appeal fails.

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.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
2021. Acht Festnahmen in einer Woche.

Eight suspects were arrested in connection with six wildlife crime cases in the past week. According to the Ministry of Environment's wildlife crime statistics, 13 wildlife products were confiscated. On July 12, a Namibian with two python skins was arrested. The following day, a Namibian national was arrested in Rundu for being in possession of a pangolin armor. A Zambian national with four tusks was also arrested in Katima Mulilo on July 15. On the same day, a man with three tusks was arrested in Kahenge, as well as a Namibian in Outjo, because he was in possession of an oryx…

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Smit E 2021. 10 more arrested for wildlife crimes in July.

At Sangwali, a Namibian was arrested on 6 July for being in possession of one impala carcass. Oscar Munyandi was charged with illegal hunting of special protected species. In another matter, a Namibian, Simuna Kankona, was arrested on 12 July with two python skins, and charged for the illegal possession and dealing of controlled wildlife products. On 13 July, Mathews Hamusira, a Namibian citizen, was arrested at Rundu for being in possession of a pangolin skin.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
2021. Accused in Mbombela rhino horn bust identified.

The two men who were arrested for the illegal possession and selling of rhino horns on Wednesday, appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Thursday afternoon. They are Schalk Abraham Steyn (48), better known to Lowvelders as AB, and Limpopo game farmer, Dawid Groenewald (52).

Thursday, 22 July 2021
2021. Two arrested with 19 rhino horns to appear in Mpumalanga 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.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
2021. Game breeder arrested for possession, trade in rhino horns.

A local game breeder has earlier today been charged with the illegal possession and the selling of rhino horns after a combined intelligence operation involving several law enforcement units.

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Kindzeka ME 2021. Cameroon police intercept pangolin scales trafficked from 3 central African states.

Cameroonian police say they have for the first time during the pandemic seized parts of an estimated 2,000 pangolins poached in Cameroon and neighboring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Police say travel restrictions had slowed trafficking of the endangered anteater to Asia, where its meat is considered a delicacy and the scales are used in traditional medicine. At least 12 bags of Pangolin scales and leopard skin are in a police warehouse at Nlonkak, a neighborhood in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde.

Wednesday, 21 July 2021
2021. Vier Nasenhörner beschlagnahmt.

Last Monday, four men with nose horns were arrested in their car between Kamanjab and Opuwo. The Namibian Police (Nampol) issued a statement yesterday afternoon that the four suspects on the C35 were stopped at 3 p.m. at a roadblock with four rhino horns. The value of the horns has not yet been disclosed. The men are between 20 and 46 years old and the police investigation has yet to clarify where the nasal horns came from. 

Tuesday, 20 July 2021
2021. Vier renosterhorings in minibus gevind.

Vier mans tussen 20 en 46 jaar is in hegtenis geneem nadat die polisie Maandag op vier renosterhorings beslag gelê het toe 'n minibus onderweg na Opuwo by 'n padblokkade deursoek is. Die minibus is kort ná drieuur die middag by 'n padblokkade op die Kamanjab-Werda-pad afgetrek. Die polisie sê in 'n misdaadverslag vier mans is vir die besit van beheerde wildprodukte in hegtenis geneem. Die oorsprong van die renosterhorings en die waarde daarvan is nog nie bekend nie. Die polisie se ondersoek na die voorval duur voort.

Tuesday, 20 July 2021
Routh R 2021. Murder, poaching accused dies in custody.

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

Tuesday, 20 July 2021
Shinana A 2021. Four caught with rhino horns.

Four people were arrested in the Kamanjab area after they were found with rhino horns.

Tuesday, 20 July 2021
Terblanché N 2021. Four men found in possession of rhino horn.

The Protected Resources Sub Division of the Namibian Police has launched an investigation into the origin of four rhino horns found in possession of four suspects during an impromptu roadblock in the Kunene Region. According to a success report provided by NamPol’s Public Relations Division, the four men were travelling in a minibus taxi from Kamanjab to Opuwo when they were found in possession of four horns wrapped in tinfoil.

Monday, 19 July 2021
Chingarande D 2021. 2 nabbed for illegal possession of ivory.

Two unemployed Harare men appeared in court last week for illegal possession of ivory.

Sunday, 18 July 2021
Rhino horn weighing 160kg seized at OR Tambo.

Customs officers of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) seized 32 pieces of rhino horn, weighing 160kg, at a cargo transit shed at the OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday, 17 July.

Friday, 16 July 2021
Nyaga B 2021. Kenya: Ivory worth Ksh1.4M recovered in Kajiado County.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in Kajiado has recovered four pieces of elephant tusks hidden in a bush in Torosei area, Kajiado Central. Weighing 14 kilograms and estimated at a street value of Ksh 1.4 million, the ivory was discovered by locals who informed their area Chief. KWS County Warden Vincent Ongwae said the ivory is suspected to have been sneaked into the country through the border, as there had been no reported cases of elephants killed in the recent past.

Friday, 16 July 2021
Smit E 2021. Nege verdagtes weens wildmisdaad vasgetrek.

Op 20 Junie is 'n Namibiër op Rundu in hegtenis geneem toe 'n ietermagovel in sy besit gevind is. By die Etosha Nasionale Park se King Nehale-hek is twee Namibiërs op 21 Junie in hegtenis geneem omdat hulle onwettig in die besit van 'n elandkarkas was. In 'n ander voorval by Omahenene is 'n Angolese burger en 'n Namibiër op 22 Junie in hegtenis geneem toe hulle met 22 ietermagovelle betrap is terwyl daar op 'n handwapen sowel as vyf rondes ammunisie beslag gelê is. Intussen is nog 'n Namibiër op 24 Junie op Oshakati in hegtenis geneem nadat hy met drie olifanttande…

Friday, 16 July 2021
Nombembe P 2021. Trio slapped with three-year jail sentences for rhino horn theft.

They were bust with about R500,000 worth of rhino horn. The regional court in Gqeberha sentenced Jonathan Jeremy Perring, 37, Keanon Terblanche, 28, and Christo Shaun Swartz, 30, on Thursday.

Thursday, 15 July 2021
2021. Wildtierprodukte beschlagnahmt.

Am 20. Juni wurde ein Namibier in Rundu verhaftet, weil er im Besitz eines Schuppentierpanzers war. Am König-Nehale-Tor des Etosha-Nationalparks wurden am 21. Juni zwei Namibier wegen illegalen Besitzes eines Elenantilopen-Kadavers verhaftet. Bei einem weiteren Vorfall beim Grenzkontrollposten Omahenene wurden am 22. Juni ein angolanischer Staatsbürger und ein Namibier mit 22 Schuppentierpanzern verhaftet, während ein Revolver sowie fünf Schuss scharfe Munition beschlagnahmt wurden. In der Zwischenzeit wurde in Oshakati am 24.

Thursday, 15 July 2021
2021. Kwekwe python man arrested.

Polics in Kwekwe have confirmed the arrest of a 31-year-old man who allegedly stashed a two-metre long rock python in his vehicle.

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Smit E 2021. Nine arrested with 28 illegal wildlife products.

On 20 June, a Namibian was arrested at Rundu for being in the possession of a pangolin skin. At Etosha National Park's King Nehale gate, two Namibians were arrested on 21 June for illegally being in the possession of an eland carcass. In another incident at Omahenene, an Angolan national and a Namibian were arrested on 22 June with 22 pangolin skins, while a revolver pistol as well as five rounds of live ammunition were confiscated.

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Muvundisi J 2021. Ivory suspect shifts blame to co-accused.

A Bulawayo man, who was arrested together with two other men for illegally dealing in ivory, has shifted the blame to his co-accused, claiming the tusks belonged to the duo.

Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Makhurane B 2021. Two men found in possession of Ivory.

Two men from Bulawayo appeared in court for possessing about 16kg of ivory without a licence.

Tuesday, 13 July 2021
Nyika L 2021. Two men jailed nine years each for poaching pangolin.

Two men from Madumabisa outside Hwange town have been sentenced to nine years in jail after they were caught in a bush in Matetsi with a live pangolin.

Monday, 12 July 2021
Muiruri P 2021. From poacher to the end user - the intricate web of wildlife criminals.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), most of the poachers come from poor communities and are just looking for food. Such ones use snares, wire traps, poisoned watermelons or nails to catch elephants, and spears as weapons to kill the trapped animals.

Sunday, 11 July 2021
2021. Poachers caught with humongous live pangolin.

Two poachers who were in possession of a female pangolin weighing over 13kg were nabbed by wildlife activists in Hwange on Thursday last week.

Friday, 9 July 2021
Oduor S 2021. Kenya: Tana River Court hands 15-year sentence to dik-dik poachers.

A court in Garsen, Tana River County has sentenced three men to 15 years in prison each for poaching. In the ruling made on Thursday, the court also imposed a fine of Sh3 million for each of the men on three accounts. Sharif Ngala (39), Kingi Charo (25) and Baraka Thoya (20) pleaded guilty to poaching 140 dik-diks, three teramuks and porcupine meat before senior principal magistrate Paul Rotich.

Thursday, 8 July 2021
Smith E, Reiter C 2021. Leichter Rückgang - Wildtierkriminalität dennoch eine Bedrohung.

In Namibia ging die Zahl der Wildtierverbrechen im vergangenen Jahr laut dem Umweltministerium leicht zurück. Dennoch bleibt dies weltweit ein Problem mit schwerwiegenden finanziellen Konsequenzen, so der jährliche Bericht des Internationalen Konsortiums zur Bekämpfung der Wildtierkriminalität (ICCWC).

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