Case against former ranger to resume
They were arrested after a white rhino was poached in the Kingfisherspruit area.
SKUKUZA – The trial of Rodney Landela, a former Kruger National Park (KNP) regional ranger, will only resume again on July 17.
The case against him and his co-accused, Kenneth Motshotsho, was moved last week from the Skukuza Regional Court to the Mhala Court in Thulamahashe near Acornhoek.
The pair have been on trial since July 2016. After being denied bail in the Lowveld’s regional courts, alleged poacher Landela was granted bail in the Mpumalanga High Court in December 2017.
The two were arrested after a white rhino was poached in the Kingfisherspruit area. Both its horns had been removed.
Their case was originally heard by Dr Andries Lamprecht in the Skukuza Regional Court, but postponed several times during his illness.
After his eventual passing away on March 18, 2018, the trial had to start over. Further delays occurred while the prosecution waited to hear whether a temporary magistrate would be appointed permanently before witnesses would start testifying again.
