Kruger National Park poachers jailed for 11 years after footprint trail

Two poachers have been jailed for 11 years each after Kruger National Park rangers tracked them down in the Pretoriuskop section of the park.

The Skukuza Regional Court sentenced Ephraim Bheki Siwela, 43, and Kobus Simon Sambo, 40, after convicting them on seven poaching-related charges.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), officials detected suspicious movement in the park on 30 May 2021 and immediately deployed aerial surveillance.

Investigators identified two sets of footprints, which rangers followed through the area.

During the search, rangers recovered a firearm and hunting knives before finding Siwela and Sambo hiding in vegetation about five metres away.

Rangers arrested both men at the scene.

Investigators later matched their footwear to the tracks found in the park.

Evidence linked poachers to scene

The court later granted Siwela and Sambo bail pending trial.

Both men pleaded not guilty.

State prosecutor Lot Mgiba led evidence from the Kruger National Park’s Technology Operations Manager and presented expert testimony linking their footwear to the tracks.

The NPA said ballistic evidence also connected the recovered firearm to Siwela and Sambo.

The court convicted them of trespassing in a national park, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm for the commission of an offence, conspiracy to commit an offence, unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of a dangerous weapon.

Kruger National Park poachers handed 11-year sentences

The court sentenced each suspect to three years for trespassing and eight years for possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

It also imposed six years for unlawful possession of a firearm, four years for possession of a firearm for the commission of an offence, four years for conspiracy, two years for unlawful possession of ammunition and one year for possession of a dangerous weapon.

The court ordered those sentences to run concurrently with the eight-year firearm sentence.

However, the three-year trespassing sentence will run consecutively, bringing the effective sentence to 11 years’ direct imprisonment for each man.

The court also declared Siwela and Sambo unfit to possess firearms.

The NPA welcomed the sentences and said the case showed the value of cooperation between conservation authorities, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in fighting wildlife crime.

It said it would continue prosecuting offenders involved in environmental and wildlife crimes.