Three antipoaching personnel arrested
Three anti-poaching security personnel on a private farm in the Outjo district were arrested over the Easter weekend for allegedly supplying rhino horns to suspects arrested at the OutjoOtavi roadblock.
A press statement issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism on Thursday, said the suspects, all Namibians, were arrested by a Namibian Police-led operation on 7 April 2023.
Meanwhile, two suspects were arrested on 6 April 2023 at a mobile police roadblock on the Tsumeb-Otavi road for allegedly being found in possession of two fresh rhino horns.
The suspects, Namibian citizen Sakaria Johannes and Angolan national Tomas Domingos were suspected to have illegally entered the Etosha National Park to hunt rhinos, prior to their arrest.
The statement revealed the suspects appeared in court on Tuesday and were denied bail. Their case was postponed to 7 July 2023.
The continent’s rhino population has been decimated to feed the demand for rhino horn, which, despite being made of the same material as rhino hair and fingernails, is prized in East Asia as medicine and as jewellery. Poaching has plagued southern Africa for decades, especially in neighbouring South Africa and Botswana, leading to antipoaching programmes, including strict policing and dehorning, or removing horns from the rhinos as a way of discouraging poaching.
Namibia is home to a third of the world’s remaining black rhinos. Namibia is also home to the second-largest white rhino population in the world after South Africa.
The Save the Rhino Trust estimates there are about 200 freeroaming black rhinos in Namibia, mainly in the northeast.
It said further investigations in this case led to the discovery of a fresh carcass in the national park, as well as a 375-calibre rifle, a silencer and 29 live ammunition.
The statement continues that two more old rhino carcasses were discovered in the Etosha National Park, believed to have been poached, noting that however, currently there is no indication linking the two old carcasses to the two suspects.
“The work of the law enforcement agencies involved in these arrests is commendable and worthy of praise. We encourage them to continue in the same spirit to ensure that those plundering our resources for their selfish gains are brought to face justice,” it said.
The ministry calls on members of the public to reject and condemn poaching in society by reporting suspected incidents to police and environment ministry.
Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda recently revealed in 2022, 87 rhinos were poached for their horns in Namibia, up 93% from 2021, when 45 were killed.