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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 - 19 of 19
Wednesday, 8 October 2025
2025. South Africa: Tragic news from the Eastern Cape.

A pregnant rhino has been shot dead and dehorned by poachers on a game reserve near Alexandria. The incident comes as a gruesome reminder of the rhino poaching scourge, which has been relatively quiet in the Eastern Cape in the past six months but continues to threaten the survival of the species. We will update with more information once it becomes available. The only info circulating at the moment is currently behind a pay wall, which we don't have access to.

Friday, 3 October 2025
2025. Live pangolin saved from the illegal trade.

South Africa: Great team work guys. Live pangolin saved from the illegal trade - disgraceful that 2 cops were among the suspects arrested! In an intelligence driven operation yesterday, 4 suspects were arrested at Makro Wonderboom, Pretoria, 2 were SAPS police officers, 2 x 9mm pistols retrieved. Outstanding work from SAPS Cullinan stock theft and Endangered species, SAPS Silverton K9 and support from US Homeland Security

Thursday, 11 September 2025
2025. 2 traffickers arrested with 32kg ivory.

EAGLE Côte d'Ivoire - 2 traffickers arrested with 32kg ivory. The ivory, concealed in a rice sack, was trafficked from Liberia. The Burkina Faso National trafficker denounced the other for being a known big ivory trafficker.

Sunday, 20 July 2025
2025. Zimbabwe Police has arrested one Cong Yanzhong.

Zimbabwe Police has arrested one Cong Yanzhong from China for possession of 3 rhino horns worth US$240 000 and 4 pieces of raw ivory weighing 36kgs . The Chinese national appeared in court and was remanded in custody to 22 July 2025 for trial.

Thursday, 3 July 2025
2025. As of July 3, 2025, the trial of former Kruger National Park (KNP) regional ranger Rodney Landela and his co-accused, Kenneth Motshotsho, continues in the Skukuza Regional Court.
As of July 3, 2025, the trial of former Kruger National Park (KNP) regional ranger Rodney Landela and his co-accused, Kenneth Motshotsho, continues in the Skukuza Regional Court. The two face multiple charges related to the poaching of a white rhino in the Kingfisherspruit area in 2016.
Tuesday, 11 February 2025
Bega S 2025. Behind the scenes of snare removal in the Kruger National Park.

A large part of his work involves removing snares from wildlife, and "sadly, incidents of snaring have been increasing across Kruger in recent years, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic", he wrote in South African National Parks (SANParks) 2023/2024 research report. The use of tracking collars - which send alerts either when animals enter identified snaring hotspot areas or have been stationary for a certain period - has recently become an important tool in managing endangered species such as wild dogs.

Monday, 4 September 2023
Bothoko P 2023. Cape pangolin poaching on the rise.

The illegal trade in Cape pangolin scales amongst East African nations is suspected to be the driving force behind the unlawful killing of the creatures in Botswana.

Wednesday, 26 July 2023
Mosikare L 2023. Zim duo in illegal possession of pangolin.

Francistown: Two men from Zimbabwe appeared in court Tuesday to face a count of capturing a protected game animal and another for entering Botswana unlawfully. According to the charge sheet, Kelvi Maposa, 43, and Matitshidza Sibanda, 33, both unemployed and from Plumtree in Zimbabwe, being persons not licensed, authorised or exempted unlawfully captured a pangolin being a protected game animal without a permit to do so.

Wednesday, 28 June 2023
Kraai Z 2023. Pangolin poacher convicted.

Tsabong Police Station Commander, Superintendent Christopher Tlhapi-David says the recent interception of poachers by his team in which the suspects were later found in possession of a pangolin, signals concern for other protected species.

Saturday, 17 December 2022
Bloch S 2022. NPA applauded for tougher stance on rhino poachers.

Wildlife officials have hailed the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) recent decision to appeal what it called the lenient sentences handed to two rhino poachers in May, as well as the jailing this week of one of the men in a separate case.

Thursday, 27 October 2022
Bloch S 2022. State reinstates charges against rhino poacher Gideon van Deventer.

The national prosecuting authority (NPA) has reinstated charges and re-enrolled an eight-year-old case against known rhino poacher Gideon (aka Deon) van Deventer, after it emerged the original case had been quashed and struck from the roll under dubious circumstances. The state’s 2014 Bronkhorstspruit firearms case against Van Deventer was re-opened in June this year after a whistle-blower tipped off law enforcement authorities and court officials about a miscarriage of justice that occurred at the Bronkorstspruit magistrate’s court on 24 July 2015.

Sunday, 1 May 2022
Bega S 2022. Halfmens: Four succulent poachers jailed for seven years in Northern Cape.

Four succulent poachers have been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for trying to steal 14 endangered Halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum) succulent plants within the |Ai|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park in the Northern Cape.

Friday, 3 December 2021
Bega S 2021. Following the wildlife traffickers' money.

South Africa's diverse wildlife means it plays a "devastating role" as both source and transit country for wildlife trafficking. The most popular animal parts include rhino horn, abalone, pangolin and ivory, which is moved through South Africa to the East.

Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Mosikare L 2021. Tenderpreneur pleads guilty to illegal ivory possession.

Franzistown: A tenderpreneur has pleaded with the court to be lenient when sentencing him after pleading guilty to illegal possession of an elephant tusk.

Monday, 13 September 2021
Mosikare L 2021. Appeal against 'SADC poaching ringleader' stalls.

Francistown: It is more than two years since the state successfully appealed the case of the alleged SADC poaching ringleader, Dumisani Moyo, on urgency but has not acted on the appeal thereafter. In May 2019, Magistrate Lebogang Kebeetsweng acquitted and discharged Moyo of allegedly unlawfully being found in possession of a rhinoceros horn contrary to Section 70 of the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act.

Tuesday, 2 March 2021
2021. Rhino poaching: 'Khama is lying, malicious, grossly irresponsible'.

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) director Kabelo Senyatso has strongly refuted claims by former president Ian Khama that 120 rhinos have been poached in the last 18 months.

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Bothoko P 2020. Poaching suspect injures soldier.

BDF is investigating a case in which the suspected poacher allegedly stabbed the soldier with a sharp object during an anti-poaching operation.

Wednesday, 11 March 2020
2020. Soldier, poacher killed in rhino hotspot shootout.

Botswana Defence Force (BDF) soldier and a poacher have died during a poaching incident that happened early this morning at Chiefs Island in heart of the Okavango Delta, the army has confirmed.

Friday, 14 February 2020
2020. Of body bags and poached rhinos.

Shoot-to-kill policies just don’t work, are immoral and unlawful too. To my knowledge, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) anti-poaching squads have killed well over 60 alleged poachers since the late 1980s with no discernible effect.

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