Mozambicans sentenced to eight years prison in South Africa

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Mozambicans sentenced to eight years prison in South Africa

10:01 CAT | 15 Mar 2022

Image: Twitter / @SAPoliceService

The South African court in Skukuza, Mpumalanga province, sentenced two Mozambicans to eight years in prison for poaching in the Kruger national park, a source from the South African Police Service (SAPS) told Lusa on Monday.

Speaking to Lusa, spokesman Selvy Mohlala said Rodrigues Ngobeni, 34, and George Manyise, 30, were sentenced on Friday and Sibusiso Mahlaule, 29, of South African nationality, for illegal rhino hunting, in April 2021, in the South African national park that borders Mozambique.

According to the South African spokesman, the accused were sentenced to two years in prison for trespassing and five years for conspiracy to commit a crime.

The Mozambican poachers were sentenced to a further year in prison for breaching the Immigration Act for being in the country illegally, Selvy Mohlala told Lusa.

Last month, the South African justice system sentenced two Mozambican poachers to 23 years in prison for illegally slaughtering two rhinos in the Kruger National Park in north-eastern South Africa.

The number of rhinos killed by poachers in South Africa, the country with the largest number of this species in the world, increased by 14.5% in 2021 compared to 2020, the government in Pretoria announced.

South Africa currently has about 20,000 rhinos, the largest reserve of these animals in the world.

#sapsMP Mpumalanga PC. Lt Gen Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has welcomed the sentencing of three poachers by the Skukuza Regional Court for poaching on Friday, 11 March 2022. #Sentencing NPhttps://t.co/MTzIUj6gcJ pic.twitter.com/hP3eaIV35M

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) March 12, 2022

Media Statement

South African Police Service

Office of the Provincial Commissioner Mpumalanga

Nelspruitt – The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has welcomed the decision to sentence three poachers regardless of awaited forensic results. Sibusiso Mahlaule, aged 29, and George Manyise, aged 30 as well as 34-year-old Rodrigues Ngobeni did not escape the might of the law as they were sentenced by the Skukuza Regional Court for poaching on Friday, 11 March 2022.

Their sentences emanate from an incident in which the three were caught by field rangers at Kruger National Park on 18 April 2021. It is said that the rangers, working at Pretoriuskop Section (inside the Kruger National Park) discovered something sinister which raised suspicions of the presence of intruders. The rangers then began to be on the lookout and followed some tracks with the assistance of tracker dogs as well as a helicopter belonging to SANParks.

It was not long before the field rangers spotted the three men. These men were then cornered and apprehended. There were certain items found in their possession, which included a .375 H&H bolt action rifle with a fitted silencer, as well as three cartridges of a .375 H&H.

Police at Skukuza were notified about the incident and on their arrival, all three suspects were arrested and charged for trespassing, as well as for conspiracy to commit crime. Meanwhile a charge of contravention of the Immigration Act was added upon Rodrigues Ngobeni after police established that he was from the country of Mozambique and was in South Africa illegally. The case was then handed over to the experts in the field of stock theft, hence the Stock Theft Unit of the SAPS at Skukuza took over the investigation.

The three accused were subsequently brought to court and whilst the probe was ongoing, where detectives were still waiting for forensic outcome in their case, the three accused persons consider that as an opportunity that would probably work in their favour. They then decided to plead guilty. The court accepted their plea however they were not exempted from punishment as they were sentenced as follows:

On the count of trespassing, the three accused were each sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. On the count of conspiracy to commit a crime, the three accused were each sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, meanwhile Ngobeni was sentenced to an additional 8 years imprisonment for contravention of the Immigration Act.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela added that people should continue to obey the laws of the country, including the laws that have been put in place to protect nature. “We further applaud the good working relationship that was exists amongst the team of field rangers, the Investigators, as well as the Prosecution Team and the Judiciary. We also hope that the sentence will serve as a lesson that, one way or another, there is punishment for law breakers,” concluded the General.

MPUMALANGA – Sibusiso Mahlaule, 29, and George Manyise, 30 as well as 34-year-old Rodrigues Ngobeni did not escape the might of the law as they were sentenced by the Skukuza Regional Court for poaching on Friday, 11 March 2022. pic.twitter.com/pnyqkJWa2q

— Tulani Ngwenya (@tulani_ngwenya) March 13, 2022