BUSHBUCKRIDGE – Trespassers in the Kruger National Park (KNP) do not need to be linked to poached rhino or horn to face a long incarceration.
The Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court sentenced two men to 16 years’ imprisonment each, for trespassing in the KNP while armed last week. Ernesto Ngoveni and Andries Mongwe pleaded guilty to the charges. They claimed they crossed the border between Mozambique and the KNP to seek employment in South Africa.
The two were apprehended in the Houtbosrand area of the park on May 22.
“A gunshot was heard and trackers and tracking dogs were deployed,” explained senior state advocate, Ms Ansie Venter. “A chopper was sent out to the area and Ngoveni and Mongwe were arrested.”
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They did not have rhino horn in their possession and no wounded rhino was found to prove they had poached.
Yet in court, Venter stated that she did not buy their defence and argued that they had intended to poach.
“The accused claim that their .458 rifles were for self-defence. But who carries a hunting weapon for such purposes?” she said.
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Venter added that, according to the Department of Home Affairs, both men have been in the country illegally since the beginning of the year.
Before passing the hefty sentence, the magistrate,
Ms Betty Lesufi said other Mozambican nationals with the intention to poach had to be deterred from following in their footsteps, and the sentence would have to serve as a message.
She said that excuses, such as “I crossed the border to look for a job”, had reached the end of their rope.
“It is time for Mozambicans to respect South African courts,” Lesufi concluded.
