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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.

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Displaying results 1 - 5 of 5
Monday, 23 September 2024
Smit E 2024. Conservation areas feel betrayed by Environment Commissioner.

Two communal conservation areas near Khorixas feel betrayed by the decision of the environment ministry to allow mining activities in a joint management area where rhinos are threatened. The conservation areas of Doro ! Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein recently succeeded in obtaining a court order to stop road construction activities related to mining claims within their nuclear rhino conservation area.

Friday, 20 September 2024
Smit E 2024. Mines in the nature reserve?.

The Doro ! Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein recently obtained a court order to halt road construction work for planned mining operations to protect rhinos in their area. They are supported by the traditional authority Aodaman and Ultimate Safaris, a tourism partner, in their lawsuit against mining entrepreneurs Ottillie Ndimulunde and Timoteus Mashuna. The lawsuit is also directed against the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Mines, the Commissioner for the Environment and the Commissioner for Mines.

Tuesday, 3 September 2024
Smit E 2024. Namibia scores extradition success.

Namibia's recent success in returning a fugitive from South Africa to stand trial has underscored the importance of cooperating with Interpol to adhere to the complexities of the extradition process worldwide.  The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol)'s National Central Bureau (NCB) in Windhoek focusses its global police cooperation activities around Namibia's crime areas of concern, including wildlife crime (particularly stock theft), drug crime, money-laundering, firearms’ trafficking and human trafficking.  The Namibian Police (Nampol) uses its…

Thursday, 24 November 2022
Smit E 2022. Seven arrested for old wildlife crime cases.

Seven suspects were arrested last week in connection with old wildlife crime cases. This is according to weekly wildlife crime statistics issued by the protected resource division and the intelligence and investigation unit within the safety and environment ministries. On 19 November, two Namibian men, Festus Amunyela and Mekondjo Tsillinus, were arrested at Oshivelo for conspiring to poach a rhino on 16 June. In another incident, Angolan national Ndango Nicolaus was arrested on 17 November in Rundu for being in possession of a pangolin on 4 August.

Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Smit E 2022. Protected skins land 3 in jail.

Only two new wildlife crime cases were registered last week, with three suspects arrested. This is according to the weekly crime statistics for 7 to 13 November. Twelve wildlife crime cases were heard in court, while one was finalised. In Otjiwarongo, two Namibian men - Tjizire Kohongo and Angula Kafidi - were arrested on 8 November for being in possession of a leopard skin. They have appeared in court and were refused bail. In a separate incident in Rundu, 55-year-old Namibian Ngoma Mungenyu was arrested on 11 November for being in possession of an African skunk skin.

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