SKUKUZA – Visitors to Kruger National Park (KNP) who are planning to use the R536 leading to Paul Kruger Gate tomorrow, 13 August 2016 for entry or exit are advised to use alternative routes because KNP management are not sure if the demonstrations would have stopped or not.

The KNP management advised that visitors must please use alternative routes such as Phabeni and Numbi Gates to access and exit Kruger National Park until further notice. “Please avoid Paul Kruger Gate for now,” said Mr William Mabasa, acting head of Communications at SANParks.

Riots erupted last week after a member of the Cork community was shot while he was swimming in the Sabie River.

A case of murder is being investigated. It is believed that a Kruger National Park (KNP) ranger shot Mr Sibusiso Piri Dlamini (30) in the river, close to land owned by the Cork Trust on Wednesday August 3.

Dlamini was apparently known in the community for selling fish to tourists. No tackle or weapons were found with the body.

Skukuza SAPS spokesman, WO Bossie Boshoff, confirmed that Dlamini died on the scene.

Four of his friends, who were with him at the time, ran away when the shots were fired.

A murder docket was opened at Skukuza Police Station the same day by the operational arm of SAPS in the KNP, Rhino 7. This unit is stationed at the rhino anti-poaching operational base, Majoc.

Protesters from local communities started to blockade the road from Hazyview to the park, close to Cork last Friday.
They threw stones and erected barricades with logs and branches. A section of the fence of the KNP was taken down on Thursday.

They also threatened visitors to the park, as well as people who used the road to get to the lodges where they worked.
According to Boshoff, the community claimed at various times that Dlamini was not in the Kruger to poach fish and did not possess weapons.

The management of the KNP received a list of six demands from the community on Saturday. These were responded to in a written communication to the community on Monday.

Representatives from Skukuza SAPS gave the letter to community members at Paul Kruger Gate. Const Priscilla Mthombeni, spokesman for Calcutta SAPS, confirmed that police units were deployed along the road to restore peace and order since Monday morning.

A local lodge manager claimed that tear gas was used to disperse the angry crowd on Tuesday afternoon.

Due to the protests the park had to close Paul Kruger Gate for the safety of visitors, on various occasions. The gate was reopened on Wednesday. Early on Friday morning, 12 August, it was quiet on the road and the Paul Kruger Gate was open.

Mr William Mabasa, spokesman for SANParks, confirmed Thursday that among the demands was financial compensation, the amount which management did not want to disclose. The case number was given to community members.

Communications officer for Hazyview SAPS, Const Elvis Ngomane, explained that the unrest settled down on Wednesday after SANParks management reached an amicable agreement with Dlamini’s family to assist financially, without prejudice, with the burial arrangements. The funeral will take place on the weekend.