Future of Skukuza’s ‘poaching’ court hangs in balance

The future of the Skukuza Regional Court – and the war on rhino poaching in the globally acclaimed Kruger National Park – is hanging in the balance pending a decision by Mpumalanga Judge President Malesela Legodi following news that the court is to be closed.

“Judge President Legodi, exercising his powers in terms of section 8 (4)(c) of the Superior Courts Act,  has written to the relevant stakeholders informing them that the Regional Court in Skukuza will remain operational until a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the issue is convened,” Office of the Chief Justice spokesperson Nathi Mncube told The Citizen yesterday.

Elise Serfontein of Stop Rhino Poaching, a registered NGO, said both the presiding officer (regional magistrate) and prosecutor had received instructions to transfer all pending cases to Mhala, nearly 85km from Skukuza.

In September last year a storm broke over the court when it was accused of giving ridiculously lenient sentences to poachers.

The chief magistrate of Mpumalanga was then already accused of wanting to close down the court and move its cases to Bushbuckridge, and it was apparently at Legodi’s behest the court remained open.

According to Serfontein, cases would be moved to Mhala Magistrate Court in Acornhoek, if the court was closed.

“This means that they are far away if needed in the veld, making it very difficult for them to get back quickly especially when there are poaching groups active in the park,” Serfontein said in her petition, Justice for Rhinos Hangs in the Balance – Help Save Skukuza Regional Court from Closure, on change.org.

“Seen in Parliament as the benchmark of good practices as to how the quality of rhino cases should be handled, the court has boasted a 99.8% conviction rate and up to recently had a 100% success rate in opposed bail applications.”

“Serious cases are trialled in the Skukuza Regional Court, including cases where suspects are linked to a poached rhino, where repeat offenders have been rearrested, where syndicates are involved and where rangers are arrested for rhino poaching,” Serfontein said.

Serfontein said since its inception, the court had finalised approximately 80 cases, with convictions ranging between 12 and 40 years, still had about 72 cases left on the roll, and provided a much safer environment for rangers to testify.

“Rangers are not allowed to carry their state weapons outside of the reserve, which renders them unarmed in a potentially dangerous environment,” Serfontein said.

“Closing the Regional Court makes it extremely difficult for the Stock Theft Unit of SAPS to attend since the District Court has already, to a large extent, been moved to Bushbuckridge. Now the members have to attend court at Bushbuckridge as well as Mhala, both far from their office.”

The petition is supported by the International Rhino Foundation, Save the Rhino, Game Rangers Association of Africa, Game Rangers Association of Africa – South Africa, Save the Waterberg Rhino, Care For Wild, Project Rhino KZN, PureWild Fund NPC, and the Chipembere Rhino Foundation.

In the first half of this year, 122 alleged poachers were arrested within the park, which also had about 190 rhino poached.

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