MBOMBELA – Leonard Bhuti “Boet” Mashego, the former South African National Defence Force soldier and convicted rhino poacher, intends to appeal his conviction and sentence in the Nelspruit Regional Court.
He will appear with his co-convicted, Michael Sithole, next week. The magistrate, Mr André Geldenhuys will preside over the proceedings.
Geldenhuys was the magistrate who sentenced Mashego and Sithole to 26 years in prison on July 18. Before sentencing them, he summarised the events that had led to their arrest and conviction.
With the help of ballistic evidence, photo albums, sketch plans and other evidence, the state proved that they had poached rhino on June 10, September 22 and September 25 in 2010.
Six rhinos were killed and dehorned in total before SANPark’s rangers encountered them in the Stolsnek area of the Kruger National Park (KNP) on the 25th. A shoot-out between Mashego and the rangers ensued and Mashego was wounded in the shoulder. He and Sithole were taken into custody.
During their trial, they maintained that they were innocent. Mashego explained that he was merely searching for his cattle that had gotten lost a few days prior. Sithole, a traditional healer, said he had been digging for herbs when rangers bombarded and framed him for rhino poaching. During their initial trial, Geldenhuys did not accept their defences.
Sithole and Mashego were found guilty on 13 charges which included trespassing in the KNP, for which they were sentenced to four years’ imprisonment; illegal hunting and killing of four rhinos (10 years), theft of rhino horns (six years) and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition (six years).
In order to launch an appeal, they had to apply to the Nelspruit Regional Court and provide the court with sound reasons to substantiate their application. The law dictates that the magistrate who presided over the initial proceedings, must hear the appeal as well.
