Community calls for release of alleged rhino horn kingpins #poachingsyndicates

WHITE RIVER – By 09:00 on Thursday morning the criminal courtroom at the town’s Magistrate’s Court was packed to capacity. Those who could not find a space on a court bench, sat on the ground or waited anxiously outside for the accused to appear.
This was the second appearance of seven suspects who stand accused of various charges of rhino poaching.

Three active members of the police; Capt Phineas Lubisi, Const Rachel Qwabana and Const Aretha Mhlongo; appeared together with former police constable Claude Lubisi as well as Clyde Mnisi, who is allegedly also high up in the poachers’ ranks.

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However, it was the two alleged kingpins, Joseph Nyalunga and Petros Sidney Mabuza, who the crowds of mostly Hazyview community members were focused on.

They demanded the immediate release of the two and echoed sentiments like, “They are our family,” and “We are hungry, let our people go”.

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After the court proceedings the crowd went on to protest in the street in front of the court where one man admitted to working for Mabuza and Nyalunga and claimed that because the alleged kingpins were in custody, the community of Hazyview had no money whatsoever.

One of the protesters also had a poster reading, “Don English owns rhinos in Skukuza. Stop killing our people”.

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According to the charge sheets, English was in possession of white rhino horns that were allegedly stolen by the police. Thursday’s court case was presided over by Judge Annalize Serfontein. The defence argued that the bail hearing could not begin that day based on two points.

The first was the fact that they were not sure as to why Judge Serfontein, who travelled all the way from Graskop, was now presiding over the matter and wanted to clear this confusion with the chief magistrate.

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The second was the matter of media involvement in the case. The defence argued that coverage by the media could lead to the judge not being able to be impartial in the case. They argued that SANParks was using the media to fight their battle against the courts.

The State argued that they believe the judiciary system is independent and that a judge’s decision has never been made according to what he or she has heard in the media.

Serfontein agreed that the case be postponed to October 8 for further consultation. Pending on the outcome of this, the bail application will start on the same day.