Search results

The body of an alleged poacher was found in the Kruger National Park on July 12. According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane, the body was found at about 08:30, and it is suspected that he was killed during an exchange with field rangers the previous night, July 11, around 21:00.

Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service have intercepted a 40-foot container loaded with donkey genitals along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway, the Service said on Thursday. The interception, suspected to be destined for illegal export, was uncovered on Friday, June 5, 2025, at about 9 pm following a coordinated surveillance operation by officers of the Special Wildlife Office and Customs Intelligence Unit. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

The Skukuza Regional Court sentenced Silas Mathebula (38), a Mozambican national, to 30 years behind bars on March 10 for poaching-related offences committed in 2019. According to a provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, Mathebula was convicted on multiple charges, including trespassing, conspiracy to commit a crime, killing three rhinos, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and possession of a hunting rifle and ammunition.

Five rhino horns, one hunting rifle with a silencer, fourteen live rounds, two knives and five mobile phones were recovered from the car. The Skukuza Regional Court on Tuesday sentenced rhino poachers to 34 and 39 years in prison following following their arrest in November 2019. According to Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, two of the three suspects who were arrested for rhino poaching and other related crimes were sentenced to 34 years' imprisonment. The third suspect was sentenced to 39 years' imprisonment.

The Kruger National Park (KNP) expects a decline in rhino poaching incidents due to heavy sentences imposed on five poachers in November. The acting managing executive of the KNP, Dr Danny Govender, commended the Skukuza Regional Court for imposing lengthy jail terms in recent cases and said it shows they are making good progress in fighting rhino poaching.

The reopening of the Skukuza Regional Court is producing positive results, with a 100% conviction rate for rhino poachers over the past two years. The court had been closed by the Mpumalanga Regional Court president Naomi Engelbrecht in August 2019, who wanted it to be moved to Mhala Court about 100 kilometres from Skukuza. However, this decision was overruled and the court was reopened again in April 2021.

While it was initially thought that the Rhino may have been shot, the post mortem team established that the rhino died of natural causes (fighting).