It’s been a while since we last updated you on progress. We have not spent the time idly. And we have a lot of good things to tell you.
- We made a deposit this morning of R 14 000 into the account of our field operative. Every cent of this amount has come from private contributions, and YOURS is appreciated as much as any. Thank you, and please continue to support this cause. We are making a difference.
- And please pass this message on if you can think of anyone who would be prepared to help. A monthly debit order works best, and we are grateful to receive any amount, however small. As you can see, it quickly adds up. A reminder of our banking details:
a/c name: PRAGMATIC.CHQ
a/c number: 4094674607
Bank: ABSA
Branch: Fourways 632-005
Type of account: Cheque
ABSA Bank, as their contribution to our work, operates this account free of bank charges. We have no overhead costs whatsoever. Every cent collected goes to the fight against rhino poaching.
- Wordsmith Nature has published a series of wildlife-related products that you can see on the company’s website at www.wordsmiths.co.za. Wordsmiths has pledged to donate R 5-00 from every checklist sold to our PRAGMATIC.CHQ fund. These products are already on the shelves in eight Exclusive Books branches, and have been accepted as a signature line by Trappers for their new stores, opening soon. We are also registered as a supplier to the Kruger National Park shops. The corona lockdown has put a stop to all sales and orders, but as soon as it is lifted Wordsmiths expects, based on early responses to the products, that they will sell in large quantities. This will multiply our collections many times over.
- Very shortly after we last wrote to you, this welcome news broke:
Rhino Poachers sentenced to 25 years in Prison… setting a new precedent in South Africa!
BY BRENT LINDEQUE
The sentence that was imposed is a very strong message to likeminded poachers …
Kruger National Park – Three rhino poachers were found guilty of illegal rhino hunting and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment.
The trio was found guilty of the poaching of 13 rhinos between 2013 and 2016.
Jabulani Ndlovu (40), Forget Ndlovu (37) and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu (38), collectively known as the Ndlovu Gang, were each sentenced to 25 years in jail for the 13 poaching incidents which saw 22 rhino killed in the Eastern Cape over the five year period.
They were sentenced in the Grahamstown High Court on Friday. All three were found guilty on 55 separate counts with the shortest sentence five years and the longest 15. The sentences will run concurrently, the court ruled, which will see all serve an effective 25-year term.
Police made a major breakthrough in curbing rhino poaching when they arrested the trio in June 2016 at Makana Resort.
The department believes the court sentence will send a strong message and hopefully act as a deterrent to poachers and would-be poachers. The court sentence comes at a time when the government is stepping up measures to combat rhino poaching.
- You may remember the news at the end of 2019 that Skukuza Regional Court was in danger of being closed. Times Select expressed grave concern on 26 November about the harm this would do to the fight against rhino poaching:
Small court that leads the fight against poaching faces closure
SA’s so-called “poaching court” faces being shut down, despite it having a perfect conviction rate since 2017.
Citing logistical challenges and costs, plans are afoot to move Skukuza Regional Court, a vital cog in the war on the slaughter of rhino in the Kruger National Park, more than 100km away. It is a move activists believe will set the fight against poaching back several steps.
At the time of the court’s opening in April 2017, the late Edna Molewa, environmental affairs minister at the time, said: “Having a regional court in Skukuza will ensure that the case turnaround times for rhino poaching and related cases are expedited, thus making a significant contribution to tackling the illicit trade in rhino horn and any other related activities.”
GOOD NEWS: The following announcement was made on change.org on 22 April 2020:
High Court Judgement Saves Skukuza Regional Court
Elise Serfontein
South Africa
22 Apr 2020
In a 35-page special review judgement released earlier this afternoon, a full bench of the High Court, Mpumalanga Division, issued the following Declaratory Order:
[25] The following Declaratory Order is therefore made:
(a) The court building at Skukuza has been duly appointed as a place for the holding of a court including the holding of Regional Court proceedings for the hearing of criminal trials, in terms of the Magistrates Court Act 32 of 1944, read with Government Notice NO. 219 published in the 27 January 2004 Government Gazette together with Government Notice No. 492 published in the 29 April 2016 Government Gazette.
(b) The Directives issued by Judge President Mlambo and Judge President Legodi in terms of Section 8(4)(c) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 are valid and binding on Regional Court President Engelbrecht or her successor.
(c) The Decision by Regional Court President Engelbrecht dismissing the State’s application for the transfer of the matters to the Skukuza court and their trial thereat is hereby declared invalid; this Declaratory Order does not, however, operate retrospectively .
(d) The Registrar is directed to send a copy of this judgment to the Magistrates’ Commission.
For those who are interested in the full document we’ve uploaded the PDF here. It’s a long read, but well worth it.
Today’s news brings much welcome relief. The fight to save this court has taken an immense amount of effort from many different role players, some of whom have paid the price with a heavy toll on their emotional and psychological wellbeing. We would like to commend the efforts of everyone involved, which includes each and every one of you who have signed and shared our petition. Public interest has played a very important role in this process.
As much as we would like to officially close our petition, South Africa is still in lockdown and the cases can only be transferred back to Skukuza once this is lifted. There is still a lot that needs to happen before we can announce smooth sailing.
It’s a hugely important victory for the rhinos.
- We have a new Minister (of Environment, Fisheries and Forestry), and we dare to hope that her appointment will bring a new determination to the government’s involvement in rhino protection. Barbara Creecy was appointed to the Ministry on 29 May 2019, and initial signs are promising. The South African posted this article on 4 February 2020:
Rhino poaching down 23%: What we know about SA’s fightback
By Dan Meyer
Progress continues as government agencies, NGOs and anti-poaching units fight back against poachers.
Conservation and anti-poaching efforts cut rhino poaching down by 23% in 2019, according to official figures.
Rhino horns fetch up to $60 000 (R886 657) in East Asia’s black market, where the trade remains rampant. There are less than 30 000 African rhinos remaining, with the biggest population in the Kruger National Park, where the highest incidents of poaching occur.
Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy commended the bravery of the men and women on the front lines of the battle to stop rhino poaching.
“A decline in poaching for five consecutive years is a reflection of the diligent work of the men and women who put their lives on the line daily to combat rhino poaching, often coming into direct contact with ruthless poachers,” Creecy said
She attributed the relative success to government initiatives and taking on board new technologies, such as Shotstopper which was rolled out in 2019 in the Kruger National Park. She also thanked the many NGOs that have contributed “immensely”.
The number of rhinos slaughtered last year remains alarming — with 594 of the critically endangered species wiped out — although this drop is in line with a steady decline since 2014. A total of 769 rhinos were killed in 2018.
Rhino poaching syndicates targeted
Major poaching syndicates have been stifled of late although their presence continues to threaten national security, according to Creecy.
“Because wildlife trafficking constitutes a highly sophisticated form of serious transnational organised crime that threatens national security, the aim is to establish an integrated strategic framework for an intelligence-led, well-resourced, multidisciplinary and consolidated law enforcement approach to focus and direct law enforcement’s ability supported by the whole of government and society,” said Creecy.
The state will be hoping to get another offender behind bars this week as the trial of alleged rhino horn kingpin Dumisani Gwala will also resume this week, the latest hearing after more than 20 postponements since 2014.
Poacher prosecutions up
The ministry said that a number of prosecutions had been successfully mitigated against various offenders involved in poaching in 2019.
“From January to December 2019, 178 alleged poachers were arrested in Kruger National Park. At a national level, 332 arrests were effected in respect of both rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking.”
“A total of 85 firearms were recovered during the year,” the Ministry said in a statement.
It’s early to judge, but there is (if the statistics are to be believed – remember that they have been falsified in the past) a welcome decline in KNP rhino deaths, and an equally welcome increase in prosecutions.
Thank you all for your involvement and your generosity.
With best wishes