A poacher who shot at rangers in the Kruger National Park during his arrest was sentenced to prison time for several offences relating to poaching.

Santos Baloyi (31), a Mozambican national, was one of three poachers spotted by rangers in the Afsaal section of the Kruger National Park in September last year.

Mpumalanga spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority Monica Nyuswa says rangers and Baloyi exchanged fire while his two accomplices fled. In the process he was injured in the leg and arrested.

Two fresh rhino horns as well as an axe were found in the area where rangers first saw the men. The body of a man, suspected to be one of the two who managed to escape, was later discovered. The third poacher was never found.

Nyuswa says the Skukuza Regional Court sentenced Baloyi, to an effective 18 years of direct imprisonment after he pleaded guilty.

He was convicted of trespassing, contravention of the Immigration Act, possession of a firearm with a serial number obliterated, possession of ammunition, killing of a rhino, and possession of a dangerous weapon.

“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the conviction and sentence imposed on the Baloyi with the hope that this sentence will deter like-minded poachers,” says Nyuswa.