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The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) launched its annual report for 2023, highlighting the successes and achievements of countries it supports in combating wildlife and forest crime, of which Namibia is one. The consortium uses targeted and evidence-based approaches to strengthen criminal justice systems and provide coordinated support to enhance responses to wildlife crime.

Oshikoto police regional commander Commissioner Teopolina Kalompo-Nashikaku has issued a stern warning to poachers, saying they risk their lives by engaging with armed anti-poaching units. Without mincing her words, she warned that the authorities are committed to protecting the country's fauna and flora and said poachers risk their own lives if they shoot at security personnel deployed to safeguard wildlife species.

Oshikoto police regional commander Commissioner Teopolina Kalompo-Nashikaku has issued a stern warning to poachers, saying they risk their lives by engaging with armed anti-poaching units. Without mincing her words, she warned that the authorities are committed to protecting the country’s fauna and flora and said poachers risk their own lives if they shoot at security personnel deployed to safeguard wildlife species.

The ongoing high rates of wildlife crime in Namibia and its expansion into new sectors, despite active law enforcement efforts, are clear signs that rigorous crime fighting alone will not reduce these activities. This is according to the Namibia National Report on Wildlife Protection for 2023, which warned that while law enforcement is vital, particularly in combatting organised criminal activities, further initiatives should be employed to reduce wildlife crimes.

Markus Rooinasie (27), the co-accused of serial game poacher Derick Brockerhoff, pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal hunting of huntable game. Both appeared on this charge after a well-known neighbourhood watch member and security officer caught them with a gemsbok and kudu carcass and a Remington hunting rifle in the mountains behind Windhoek's Eros neighbourhood on 11 April.

Pangolins continue to rank second behind rhinos among the wildlife most targeted by poachers in Namibia in terms of the number of cases registered in 2023. Last year, 60 wildlife crime cases were registered for pangolins and 90 cases for rhinos. In 2022, 36 pangolin cases were registeres.

Despite progress to curtail the trafficking of iconic species such as elephants, illegal wildlife trafficking continues unabated on a global scale. This is according to the 2024 World Wildlife Crime Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which takes stock of efforts to counter poaching worldwide. The report highlights that wildlife trafficking has not seen a significant enough decrease over the past two decades, prompting a call for enhanced enforcement of existing laws, including measures to combat corruption.

The suspects involved in the poaching of a white rhinoceros bull on a farm in the Gobabis district remain in custody. According to the spokesperson of the Namibian police, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, the suspects have already appeared in the magistrate's courts of Gobabis and Katutura in Windhoek over the past weekend. The names of the suspects as provided by Shikwambi are Micheal Shomeya Koshondatile (39), Barnabas Shitaleni Muzanime (35), 31-year-old Petrus Petrus Nghifindaka, Victory Henghono (also 31), and 34-year-old Imanuel Stafanus Nangwasha.

A former Namibian Police inspector charged with conspiracy to commit rhino poaching has failed in his challenge against a decision that he is unfit to serve on the force. Wersimus Haipa approached the Windhoek High Court and argued that his dismissal was "illegal" and "unfair". He demanded that he be reinstated and that the safety and security ministry compensate him for the salaries he would have received had he not been fired. Haipa was a member of the Namibian Police for 26 years before he was fired in September 2021 based on criminal charges against him.