MBOMBELA – There were five well-known court cases on the court roll in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court last week.
• Mr Jeremano Thive and Mr Andelius Mukwebe were arrested after a tracking dog sniffed out their location close to the carcass of a rhino that had allegedly been poached in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on January 19, 2013. They allegedly had rhino horn in their possession and face charges of contravening the Immigration Act, three charges relevant to illegally entering the park, and poaching. Lowvelder previously reported that legal experts for the state and the defence had been arguing over the admissibility of these findings as evidence against the two in court. Thive and Mukwebe will be back in court on August 18.
• Mr Boet Leonard Mashego and Mr Michael Sithole were apprehended on September 19, 2010 after rangers in the Stolsnek area of the KNP came across a dehorned rhino carcass. During previous court appearances, rangers testified that the two accused were found on either side of the KNP’s fence. Mashego and Sithole claimed that they were not poaching, but that they were looking for herbs and cattle at the time of their arrests. They face three counts of performing illegal activities in a national park, five of restricted activity involving a threatened species, five of theft, four of possession of an illegal firearm, and four of illegal possession of ammunition. They will appear in court again on September 1.
• Const Arnold Mashele, Mr Morris Sehlabela, Const Dennis Mkhonto and Mr Phineas Dinda stand accused of poaching rhino in the KNP on May 27 last year. They appeared in the Nelspruit Regional Court last week. The case against them was postponed to November 25 and 26. They were not granted bail and their appeals against this decision in both the regional and high Courts were unsuccessful.
• August 3 and 4 were confirmed as the next court dates in the so-called “ninja-case.” Messrs Moses Silinda (31), Pieto Gwambe (28), Sam Chauke (37) and Venas Gavane (28) stand accused of various robbery charges as well as the alleged illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. It has been reported that the accused used stolen samurai swords to intimidate victims during their alleged robberies. Lowvelder previously reported that the four were arrested after more than 100 community members were involved in the manhunt during which they were apprehended.
• Mr Mthobisi Lenox Ngwenyama, who escaped from the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court in May, appeared in the Nelspruit Regional Court yesterday on two charges. He and his co-accused, Messrs Thabo Maluka, Surprise Mthombothi and Promise Lamula, appeared as the four accused in a case of robbery with aggravating circumstances, which was allegedly committed in KaBokweni. Ngwenyama also appeared on another charge of housebreaking. He is also facing charges of poaching, murder and escaping from lawful custody. He was scheduled to appear in court again yesterday, but the outcome of this appearance wasn’t available at the time of going to print.
