MBOMBELA – A recent victory celebrated in the war against poaching was upheld in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Tuesday, when two men who wanted to poach rhino were denied leave to appeal their hefty jail sentences of 15 years each.
Charles Zitha (29) and Thulani Mchunu (31) were convicted in the Nelspruit Regional Court in April along with Patrick Ngwenya (28) and Sibusiso Mpangane (26).
They were found guilty of trespassing in the Kruger National Park and illegally possessing weapons while in the park.
Their sentencing was preceded by testimony from ranger Mr Dalton Mabasa. He testified that rangers were patrolling Pretoriuskop on the morning of December 7, 2010, when they saw tracks and heard gunshots. They contacted section ranger Mr Don English, the SANParks Environmental Crime Investigation and air assistance.
At 15:00, the five suspects were approached. They shot at the rangers, who returned fire. One of the suspects was killed and Mchunu was wounded. The suspects were arrested and an axe, two rifles and a pistol were found in their possession.
On Tuesday Zitha and Mchunu returned to the Nelspruit Regional Court as they were instructed to do by magistrate, Mr André Geldenhuys, when they attended court on Friday to indicate that they wanted to appeal their sentence.
Geldenhuys denied their application for leave to appeal. If the two want this decision to be reconsidered, they will have to direct a petition to this effect to the Judge President of the High Court.
