The former Kruger National Park (KNP) regional ranger, Rodney Landela, had been highly regarded by the Game Rangers’ Association of Africa (GRAA) when he was admitted as a member in 2008.

In 2016 he was arrested and charged with rhino poaching. Landela is now described as a disgrace to the ranger profession.

The GRAA chief executive, Andrew Campbell, said when Landela joined the organisation in 2008, he had a good record as a ranger. “He was highly considered when he joined. He was even nominated during an AGM to be a committee member. He later became a disgrace to our profession because he allegedly poached the very animals he had a duty to protect. He had always been considered a guy with a lot of potential, but ultimately he betrayed us. Integrity is a key value of being a ranger, and clearly, Landela lost his,” said Campbell.

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He also confirmed the GRAA terminated Landela’s membership in 2016, following an internal disciplinary hearing. It was instituted shortly after Landela was arrested and charged with rhino poaching a few months after becoming a GRAA committee member. He never attended any committee meetings during his short tenure.

Campbell also commended the rangers who arrested Landela and saluted them for their bravery, as he was their senior. “The field rangers who arrested him showed great courage. They worked under his leadership as a regional ranger; it could not have been easy to arrest him. Although they reported to him, they made sure the rhinos he allegedly killed got some kind of justice. These are the type of rangers we need, because they are able to do their job without fear or favour. They have my utmost respect. Our courts must urgently finalise this matter. How can we wait nine years for justice to prevail in this case? It is totally unacceptable and a slap in the face to all rangers.”

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The trial of Landela and his co-accused, Kenneth Motshotsho, is continuing in the Skukuza Regional Court.

• On July 27, 2016, some SANParks rangers who had been on patrol in the Satara area heard three gunshots near the Kingfisherspruit. They had rushed over to investigate and found the carcase of a white rhino that had obviously been poached just a few minutes before. They saw two men, one in a green ranger uniform and the other in khaki clothes, running towards a bakkie that had been parked nearby. The rangers had pursued the suspects’ bakkie and called for assistance. Some other rangers had rushed to the scene, and the SANParks chopper was flown in.The suspects’ bakkie was cut off at Satara by another group of rangers. At that time, Landela had ordered Motshotsho to drive away while he stayed behind. Motshotsho later returned. The rangers became suspicious and searched the bakkie, finding the blood-covered shoes, an axe and a knife. They also found a high-calibre hunting rifle and two rhino horns in the veld, which were allegedly dropped there by Motshotsho when he had gotten away earlier.