Kruger National Park poacher gets 20 years in jail as accomplice escapes to Mozambique

Kruger National Park poacher gets 20 years in jail as accomplice escapes to Mozambique! The Skukuza Regional Court in Mpumalanga has sentenced 41-year-old rhino poacher, Nelson Sambo, to 20 years imprisonment.

Sambo was convicted and sentenced for rhino poaching activities in the popular Kruger National Park.

The court heard that on December 2, 2020, Sambo and another suspect only identified as Gabriel somehow entered the Kruger National Park through the Stolznek section.

“The field rangers deployed in the field on that day heard two gunshots within the section of Stolznek. The incident was then immediately reported, and assistance was sought from Skukuza Airport,” said provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Donald Mdhluli.

Kruger National Park poacher

A helicopter was immediately dispatched, as well as dog handlers.

“The team tracked and cornered two males that were found in possession of two sets of rhino horns, a hunting rifle, twenty rounds of ammunition, and three knives,” said Mdhluli.

The arrested suspects initially appeared before the Bushbuckridge District Court, where they were both granted bail.

After a few court appearances, police said the two accused men absconded.

Warrants of arrest were issued for both suspects, and Sambo was later re-arrested.

Mdhluli said Gabriel has since vanished and is believed to have fled back to Mozambique.

Sambo was tried and convicted on seven charges. For trespassing in the national park, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment, and for contravention of the Immigration Act, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

On the count of illegal hunting of rhinoceros, Sambo was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He was also sentenced to four years in jail for possession of an unlicenced firearm, and five years in jail for conspiracy to commit a crime.

The court also sentenced Sambo to two years in jail for possession of unlicenced ammunition, and an additional one year in jail for possession of a dangerous weapon.

Some of the sentences will run concurrently, and Sambo will spend an effective 20 years behind bars.

Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi has welcomed the sentencing of Sambo.

He also applauded teamwork displayed by the investigation team, field rangers from SANParks, the prosecution team, and the judiciary.

Last year, IOL reported that police at Thabazimbi, in the Waterberg District of Limpopo, launched a manhunt for people involved in a rhino poaching incident which took place at a local game reserve.

At the time, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said two rhinos were brutally killed and dehorned at the game reserve.

A ranger was patrolling the area when he discovered two rhino carcasses that had been shot and dehorned.