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Three Botswana citizens who after they were found guilty, admitted in an appeal application hearing on Wednesday, 24 April, in the High Court in Kimberley that they illegally crossed the border with illegal ammunition to illegally hunt rhinos on a Northern Cape farm. An accomplice of theirs died in a shootout with the farm workers and game rangers. In March, acting judge Cordelia Kgopa found they must have foreseen that someone would die during their raid and found them guilty of the murder of K.J. Matshetse, their accomplice. He died in the crossfire.

Scores of elephants have been killed for their ivory in Botswana in recent months as a southern African country once considered a sanctuary for wildlife has seen a surge in poaching. Poachers are thought to have killed at least 60 elephants in the past three months in the north of the country and in Chobe National Park, one of the world's top wildlife destinations. Gunmen are particularly targeting the few remaining "big tusker" elephants which have already been hunted to near-extinction.

Offenders convicted of crimes related to wildlife species classified as extinct in the wild, or critically endangered, face the highest penalty under Uganda's Wildlife Act 2019 of a Shs20-billion (about US$5,5-million) fine or life imprisonment, or both. Despite this, pangolins are being heavily targeted for poaching and trafficking in the East African country. Data from global wildlife trade monitoring organisation Traffic indicates that between 2012 and 2016, more than 1,400 pangolins were seized by Ugandan authorities.