MBOMBELA – The poaching trial of Mr Micheal Sithole and Mr Boet Mashego, trained soldier and chef at the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), continued in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Thursday. Both accused elaborated on their defence arguments from the witness stand.
Although they were found close to a poached rhino in the Kruger National Park (KNP) in September 2013, they maintained that they were innocent of poaching. Apparently Mashego was searching for his cattle and Sithole digging for herbs when they were stormed by SANParks’ rangers, who then took incriminating photos of them with poaching weapons they had never seen before.
During their previous court appearances, a game ranger who may not be identified, testified that Mashego and Sithole had been found close to a rhino-poaching scene on September 25, 2013. He said they were positioned on either side of the KNP’s fence. It was testified that Mashego pointed his firearm in the direction of the rangers who had found them. Rangers opened fire and Mashego was shot.
Mr Frik Rossouw, senior investigator of Environmental Crime Services, photographed the accused after their arrest. Pictures of them next to rhino horn, hunting knives and firearms allegedly found in their possession, were presented to court.
On Thursday Sithole said he had been the victim of a conspiracy against him. Sithole swore that he had been digging for special herbs when he heard rangers calling him from afar.
“I put down my hand tool and the bag that I wanted to put the herbs in,” he said. When he reached the rangers, Sithole was told to lie down. He said guns and rhino horn were propped up next to him. According to Sithole, the photo shoot that followed led to him being framed.
During cross-examination, senior state advocate Ms Isabet Erwee said Sithole’s version was riddled with inconsistencies. She added that ballistic evidence linked the events of September 25 with the poaching of three more rhino on June 10 and September 22 that year. Sithole reasoned that this would be impossible, as he was “sitting at home, doing nothing” on those days.
When Mashego took the witness stand, he said he was as innocent as Sithole. According to Mashego, he had lost his cattle in the field and was looking for them when he was stormed by rangers and arrested.
His attorney, Mr Auper Klaas Khoza, presented Erwee and the magistrate, Mr André Geldenhuys, with copies of the SANDF in Mbombela’s attendance registers for June and September that year. According to these copies, Mashego was at work during the time that some of the said poaching had been committed.
However, Erwee pointed out that Khoza had not provided the court with the original register or certified copies
of it. The case was postponed to February 5.
Also read: Soldier claims he was looking for cattle, not rhino horn
