SAPS, SANDF & SANParks Employees Involved in Poaching

[Lisbeth]

Even if only half of it is true, it is bad, very bad

[Richprins]

» Wed Oct 22, 2014 10:00 am
Alleged rhino poachers’ appeal denied in the High Court

Acting Judge Francois Botes entrenched the refusal of accused police officers’ bail application.
Helene Eloff | 14 October 2014 16:18

TSHWANE – Three men suspected of poaching rhino in the Kruger National Park (KNP) earlier this year, appeared in the North Gauteng High Court on Monday to appeal their unsuccessful bail applications.
Three police officers, Constables Arnold Mashele, Morris Sehlabela and Dennis Mkhonto approached the North Gauteng High Court to appeal their respective bail applications that were unsuccessful before Magistrates Baloyi and Ntombeni on separate occasions in the White River Magistrate’s Court.
Messrs Mashele, Sehlabele and Mr Phineas Dinda, who was previously employed as a game ranger in the Kruger National Park, were arrested on May 27. They face charges of corruption, trespassing, conspiracy to commit a crime and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. After their first bail application was denied by Magistrate Winnie Baloyi on July 15, Mashele brought a new bail application on a fresh set of facts, which was also denied.
Magistrate Heki Ntombeni denied the bail application of Mkhonto on July 22.
Sehlabela, Dinda and Mkhonto’s appeal was denied by Acting Judge Francois Botes on Monday and they will remain in custody until the completion of the trial. No trial date has been determined in this matter yet and will be announced in the Skukuza Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.

klippies!

How did he get back to being a ranger???

[Klipspringer]

He was not a ranger when he was arrested in both cases.

[Richprins]

Lie detector tests are to be introduced for staff at Kruger National Park amid fears that international poaching gangs have infiltrated the ranger force in South Africa’s renowned reserve.

Jane Flanagan, Cape Town
Monday May 17 2021, 12.01am BST, The Times


The park boasts the world’s largest concentration of rhinoceroses, but has lost two thirds of its numbers to poachers over the past decade. More than 40 park workers have been sacked for involvement in the slaughter during the same period.

Kruger bosses fear that powerful syndicates have planted moles within the 400-strong ranks of rangers who guard the park’s endangered species. “We know that our staff are approached to provide information and the sums of money involved are big,” Ike Phaahla, the park spokesman, said. “We do have suspicions that some of the rangers have been planted there by gangs, but this is difficult to prove if you don’t have clear evidence.”
It is against the South African constitution to compel a person to undergo a polygraph test unless she or he consents. Sanparks, the state authority that runs the national parks, plans to make surrendering to testing a condition of employment in all new contracts, including for the most senior management.

Phaahla added: “Internal corruption is a scourge and it severely undermines our operations in all our parks, not only Kruger. We can’t afford to lose any more rhinos and we must have people with integrity guarding our rhinos.”

With a polygraph machine, multiple signals from sensors attached to the person being questioned are recorded on a strip of moving paper. The sensors typically record the rate of breathing, blood pressure, pulse and perspiration and sometimes leg or arm movements. During questioning, a person’s signals are recorded on the paper and significant changes in vital signs can be an indication that they are lying.
Kruger’s crackdown on corrupt insiders has also led to allegations of torture, assault and racial discrimination by black game rangers against white managers who make up a minority of park employees but hold senior positions.

Sanparks has laid criminal charges against 43 staff members it found to have links to poaching, but only one has resulted in a conviction in the courts. The park, which is roughly the size of Wales and shares a 300-mile border with Mozambique, has been besieged by poaching gangs as the economies of Vietnam and China have grown and with them demand for rhino products.

Rhino horns are most coveted in Asia’s illegal markets where they fetch up to £55,000 per kilogram, as status symbols and for use in traditional medicine. In 2007 South Africa recorded 13 rhinos killed by poachers but by 2014 deaths had risen to 1,215.

Reports of a decline in poaching since 2014 had offered some hope for efforts to prevent the extinction of rhinos. However, the latest figures suggest that their growing scarcity has contributed to that downward trend as much as anti-poaching measures or a reduced demand. Restrictions on movement during coronavirus lockdowns led to a reduction in killing, but poaching rose again once these were lifted, according to South Africa’s environment ministry.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/krug ... -2j9d8znfl

[Lisbeth]

Some time ago Sanparks had introduced a lie detector. Obviously they have stopped using it

At least they have stopped pretending that there are no poachers among the Sanparks' staff.

[Peter Betts]

So What's new

[Richprins]

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafri ... k-20210521

[Klipspringer]

DEHORNING OF DEAD RHINO IN KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
21 MAY 2021
There have been a number of disturbing comments in the press and social media regarding the work of SANParks rangers in the Kruger National Park and an incident with a rhino dehorning which took place on 11 May 2021. SANParks would like to clarify the situation.
Section ranger Wilson Siwela (Satara Section Ranger) received a report from Don English Regional Ranger Marula that he had received a report that there was a rhino carcass at a distance of approximately 20km from Satara which still had it horns. The Regional Ranger reported the carcass location to Section Ranger Wilson Siwela and asked him to investigate.
Ranger Siwela immediately left to investigate and remove the horns. SANParks operates in a high crime environment in which there are daily incursions by poachers. The removal of horns of a dead animal is standard practice. On the death of a rhino, Rangers move to remove the horns as soon as possible.
The Ranger required someone to assist and approached a General Worker due to the nature of the incident (the rhino carcass still had horns intact) whom he took straight to the carcass. The General Worker who was off duty, asked if he should return to his residence in the camp to put on his uniform, but Ranger Siwela requested that they leave immediately as it was a rhino and he did not know the cause of death (natural or poached).
He put on his hazard lights and went to the area overtaking a night drive vehicle en route. It was dark when he arrived at the scene so he drove his vehicle (which is his official work vehicle) into the bush to see if he could find the carcass. On arriving at the scene, they saw a hyena and alighted from the vehicle with a torch to look for the carcass. They found the carcass and started to remove the horns. At this point, the night drive vehicle arrived.
Once the horns were removed, the closest and safest way to get out of the bush where the carcass lay was straight out to the night drive vehicle. Ranger Siwela asked the guide if the General Worker could stand by the guide truck while he went back into the bush to get his vehicle. The night drive guests shone the spot lights for him while he walked back to his car.
Ranger Wilson retrieved his vehicle then fetched Mr Mnisi from the guide truck and thanked all for the assistance.
Later that night at approximately 21h00 – 22h00, Ranger Siwela was informed by a colleague that one of the guests wished to meet with him and he intended to do so the next day.
The next morning however, the Section Ranger immediately took the horns to Skukuza and booked them in with the relevant section and permit numbers. This is standard SANParks practice to have the horns stored as soon as possible. The Ranger then received a call from SANDF members who requested him to return to the scene of the rhino carcass. The SANDF indicated that a member of the public had shown them pictures and video of what transpired the previous evening. The Ranger requested from the SANDF that they should not return to the scene as he had not yet been able to undertake a full inspection and therefore did not wish to have a possible crime scene contaminated.
Whilst it was initially thought that the Rhino may have been shot, it has subsequently been established by the post mortem team that the Rhino died of natural causes (fighting). There was no other evidence that the Rhino had been shot at the scene.
The Section Ranger only unfortunately had an opportunity to follow up with the Camp Manager on the Thursday regarding the tourists query on the 13th, but the guests had already left Satara. The complainant had however been contacted telephonically by the Regional Ranger on the morning of the 12th where the situation was fully explained. He received an email from the communications Department reiterating what had transpired, however he continued with his campaign to tarnish the name of the Section Ranger and of SANParks. He has subsequently been informed that the organisation is considering its legal options regarding his posts and the article which was carried by written by Tred Magill. He will be notified of pending action in due course.
The ME of KNP Mr Gareth Coleman stated:
“The death of any Rhino in the Park is a major loss and hurts all of us. Our Rangers are working under very difficult conditions every single day and are under continual attack and on alert. The fact that this incident took place in front of tourists is most unfortunate and exposes what our Rangers have to confront on an almost daily basis.
We respect and encourage the public to raise any issue with which they have a concern. In this case, we are certain that this situation was handled correctly and was all in a hard day’s work of our Rangers. It is sad that despite the situation having been clearly explained subsequent to the event, that the complainant chose to escalate the items to the press and it has been reported in such a sensationalist manner. We would encourage the complainant to open a case with the South African Police Services should they believe that SANParks, or any of its employees have committed any wrong doing”.
Enquiries: Mr Ike Phaahla
GM: Communications and Marketing
Kruger National Park
Email: Isaac.phaahla@sanparks.org
Tel: 013 735 4363/4384

[Lisbeth]

Maybe the newspapers should go to the source and ask for an explanation before publishing "sensational news"! Isn't that a normal procedure for journalism?

[Richprins]

If Don English said so it is fine!