The Citizen (Gauteng)

‘Poaching’ court back on track

SKUKUZA: REOPENS AFTER COURT BATTLE OVER CLOSURE

- Nica Richards nicar@citizen.co.za

Rhino horn worth R53m is found in cargo destined for Malaysia.

Atedious and frustratin­g battle to reopen the Skukuza Regional Court has succeeded, South African National Parks (SANParks) announced yesterday.

The court was closed by Mpumalanga Regional Court president Naomi Engelbrech­t in August 2019 as she wanted the court to be moved to Mhala Court, almost 100km from Skukuza.

Among the reasons for this was the claim that the court building had not been proclaimed a legitimate court. After the closure, a battle ensued between Engelbrech­t and Mpumalanga High Court Judge President Francis Legodi. Legodi, who is Engelbrech­t’s superior, instructed her to reverse her decision, but this was ignored.

Engelbrech­t’s decision was also opposed by National Director of Public Prosecutio­ns Shamila Batohi.

A full bench supported Legodi’s motion for the case to be reviewed and Engelbrech­t’s decision was declared invalid on Monday.

Legodi and the conservati­on community believe the court’s location in Skukuza is important as it is in close proximity to wildlife crime. The court in its heyday boasted a 99.8% rhino poaching conviction rate and 100% success rate in opposing bail applicatio­ns.

Managing executive of the Kruger National Park Gareth Coleman said SANParks looked forward to operations resuming at the court. SANParks said the court had been refurbishe­d and that cases would be heard there soon.

The need for a court renowned for rhino poaching conviction­s is central to the fight against this crime. Although figures dropped 33% last year, the gradual lifting of lockdown restrictio­ns has resulted in a surge of wildlife crime.

Yesterday, rhino horn worth R53 million was found in a shipment destined for Malaysia by the SA Revenue Service customs unit.

The cargo declared as “HP cartridge developers” was flagged by a detection dog at OR Tambo Internatio­nal Airport. The shipment contained 18 pieces of rhino horn concealed in clothing.

Between July last year and this month, 227.30kg of rhino horn worth R234 114,206 has been found at OR Tambo.

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