This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:
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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Two police officers have been arrested while in possession of Sh4.9 million worth of ivory tusks in Athi River, Machakos county. The duo, according to police, was nabbed along the Nairobi–Mombasa highway within Kyumbi Township. The matter was reported to Kyumbi police station as the arrest of police officers. Police said the officers were arrested by their two colleagues. “The KWS officers both of KWS headquarters, Nairobi, acting on a tip managed to arrest the officers.
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KEN_2025_01_Kenya_Cops arrested with Sh4_9m ivory tusks in Machakos_Journal of African Elephants.pdf | 267.46 KB |
The global demand for ivory is driving heavily armed poachers from Chad and Sudan into Cameroon's Bouba Ndjida National Park. two decades, the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants programme has recorded 3,004 elephants illegally killed in this region. In April 2023, several were killed in Chad’s Beinamar area, close to the Cameroon border, sparking concerns about a potential resurgence of poaching. The Bouba Ndjida National Park in Cameroon’s North Region shares a border with the Sena Oura Biosphere Reserve in Chad.
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CAM_2025_01_Elephant poaching_Expanding Cameroons green militarisation_Daily Maverick.pdf | 318.54 KB |
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TAN_2025_01_Lunga Lunga_106 kg ivory left behind as suspects escape_Seej Africa.pdf | 294.25 KB |
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SA_2025_01_Hunting for Poachers Amid South Africas Bloody Wildlife War_Outdoor Life.pdf | 3.45 MB |
For over two decades, Chinese businessman Hou Xue Cheng has danced through Namibia's legal system, mysteriously dodging convictions for alleged death threats, wildlife crimes, smuggling, money laundering and corruption. Hou, also referred to as the Mafia Boss, was arrested with an accomplice on 7 January, after allegedly attempting to smuggle seal genitals from Namibia to Angola. His latest arrest was treated as routine, with no fanfare or media statement released by the authorities. But a closer look shows that Hou has been dodging prosecution in Namibia for over 20 years.
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NAM_2025_01_Chinas untouchable Hou How mafia boss keeps evading justice in Namibia_The Issue.pdf | 79.47 KB |
Poaching threatens the survival of savanna elephants in Central Africa. Over the last two decades, the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants programme has recorded 3 004 illegal elephant kills in this region. In April 2023, several elephants were killed in the Beinamar region of Chad, close to the Cameroon border, sparking concerns about a potential resurgence of poaching in this region. The Bouba Ndjida National Park, located in the North Region of Cameroon, shares a border with the Sena Oura Biosphere Reserve in Chad.
Poaching threatens the survival of savanna elephants in Central Africa. Over the last two decades, the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants programme has recorded 3 004 illegal elephant kills in this region. In April 2023, several elephants were killed in the Beinamar region of Chad, close to the Cameroon border, sparking concerns about a potential resurgence of poaching in this region. The Bouba Ndjida National Park, located in the North Region of Cameroon, shares a border with the Sena Oura Biosphere Reserve in Chad.
The Ministry of Environment (MEFT), in cooperation with the police and the Namibian Defence Forces (NDF), arrested two suspects found in possession of four elephant tusks in the Zambezi region at around 11pm last Thursday. "The suspects, aged 23 and 25, both male nationals of Zambia, are charged with illegal possession of controlled wildlife products and for violating the Immigration Control Act 7/1993 for illegally entering Namibia," the environment ministry said.
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NAM_2025_01_Two Zambians caught in possession of tusks_Allgemeine Zeitung.pdf | 167.8 KB |
The Itezhi -Tezhi Magistrates' Court in Southern Province has convicted and slapped a five year jail sentence with hard labour on a 51-year-old man for being found in possession of Ivory. Particulars were Shamazongo on 15th September 2023, in Itezhi -Tezhi had in his possession a prescribed trophy namely 10.4 kilograms of Ivory without a certificate of authority from the Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.
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ZAM_2023_09_Man jailed five years for unlawful possession of Ivory_Lusaka Times.pdf | 298.84 KB |
Vietnamese syndicates play an outsized, sophisticated role in the illicit trade of elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn, pangolin scales, and other wildlife products, according to a recent undercover investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency that details sourcing, packing, and transporting ivory and rhino horn through an intricate maze of transport routes out of various African ports to Malaysia, then through Laos, and finally overland into Vietnam. The numbers are staggering.
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AFR_2023_09_Vietnamese Syndicates Wiping out African Megafauna_Asia Sentinel.pdf | 374.59 KB |
Pangolin poaching for enhanced sexual pleasure on the increase. The Commander of Botswana Defence Force, Lieutenant General Placid Segokgo, has warned that poaching will continue to be part of our lives for as long as some countries in Asia cling to their beliefs that some organs of wild animals give them sexual powers. Addressing journalists at a recent press briefing, Segokgo said, “There are some people in the East who believe that consuming or applying samples of organs such as horns, teeth, or even skins enhance their sexual…
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BOT_2023_09_Illegal wildlife trade fuels poaching_Segokgo_TheVoiceBW.pdf | 245.59 KB |
A male elephant was shot eight times during a trophy hunt before eventually succumbing to its injuries on 3 September 2023. Humane Society International is now looking at the legal options it can pursue. The animal welfare group said the issuing of the permit by Limpopo to hunt the animal was unlawful because of an court interdict in place. "The elephant suffered through eight gunshots over an extended period of time before finally succumbing to his injuries.
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SA_2023_09_Elephant shot eight times during unlawful hunt at Limpopo game reserve_The Citizen.pdf | 415.74 KB |
Authorities in Gabon have dismantled a broad network of international ivory traffickers who smuggled ivory from Gabon to Cameroon and onto lucrative Asian markets. The operation involved the Gabonese judicial police and government directorates of forestry and wildlife, with the support of the NGO Conservation Justice.
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GAB_2023_09_Gabon makes major poaching arrests_Freight News.pdf | 196.97 KB |
Two accused persons have appeared in court following their arrest by detectives for allegedly trying to unlawfully dispose off an elephant hide for US$1,500.
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ZIM_2023_09_Pair busted selling elephant skin for USD1 500_New Zimbabwe.pdf | 294.55 KB |
The Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Johannesburg and K9 Unit Johannesburg arrested three men who were driving a Nissan Almera loaded with ivory tusks around the Bruma area in Johannesburg. Three suspects, aged between 33 and 35, were arrested on Wednesday in Bruma, Johannesburg, by members of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Johannesburg and K9 Unit Johannesburg for the illegal possession of elephant tusks.
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SA_2023_09_Gauteng Hawks bust three men for illegal possession of elephant tusks_IOL.pdf | 218.52 KB |
Building on last year's donation of four Bat Hawk surveillance aircraft to South African National Parks (SANParks) to aid surveillance, conservation and anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park, Anglo American Platinum this morning donated another Bat Hawk that will be going to SANParks' Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. In addition, a Bat Hawk aircraft will be donated to Mapungubwe National Park, which is located on the border of South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
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SA_2023_09_SANParks records a 78 percent decrease in Rhino poaching_Gateway.pdf | 250.77 KB |