MBOMBELA – A hairdresser and his brand-new apprentice were on their way to cut hair in Tembisa when they were arrested and framed for poaching a rhino. They were also stuffed into a helicopter along with a dog and they still don’t really know why all of this happened in a place called the Kruger National Park (KNP) on January 19, 2013.
At least, that was what Mr Jeremano Thive claimed in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Tuesday. Lowvelder previously reported that he had been apprehended in the Nwanetsi area of the KNP along with his cousin, Mr Andelius Mukwebe. They face charges of contravening the Immigration Act, and three charges relevant to illegally entering the park and poaching.
Testimony was previously led for the state that a white-rhino carcass was found and rangers traced the whereabouts of Thive and Mukwebe with the assistance of tracking dogs of the German Malinois breed, as was testified previously by two game rangers.
When senior state advocate, Ms Isabet Erwee put this to Thive on Tuesday, he denied it. “I do not know why they testified that. We were not tracked by dogs. The first time that I saw the canine was inside the chopper.”
Thive testified that he and Mukwebe entered South Africa at Ressano Garcia and walked towards Tembisa. “It was my first time in South Africa and I didn’t know where anything was. I just followed my cousin,” he testified.
Read his cousin and co-accused, Mr Andelius Mukwebe’s version of events here.
Erwee placed a map of the Kruger in front of the accused. “Look at the two dots. The one is Ressano Garcia and the other indicates Nwanetsi. The distance between the two estimates 100 kilometres. You say you entered the park at Ressano Garcia on the day you were arrested. You were apprehended at Nwanetsi.”
“I can’t confirm or deny that as I don’t know where any of these places are,” Thive answered. Erwee countered his version. “I put it to you that you are lying and that you are saying you entered the park at Ressano Garcia to suit your story that you came to South Africa to cut hair. You didn’t come here to cut hair. You came here to cut rhino horn.” The case was postponed to April 28 for continuation of trial.
