Two field rangers from the Skukuza section in the Kruger National Park (KNP) have been sentenced to seven years in prison each. They were found in ‘possession of an unlicensed firearm and other related poaching items’ in February 2019, the South African National Parks announced in a statement on 7 December.
Picture: Paolo Gamba – Flickr
Hendric Eccelence Silinda and Achieve Musa Mlambo were arrested during anti-poaching operations after the aforementioned items were found in their base camp. They were initially dismissed but, due to procedural issues, were reinstated as general workers until their trial was completed.
Dr Danny Govender, Acting Managing Executive of KNP said they are very happy with the sentence and with how well the country’s criminal courts are operating. He said in the statement that ‘this has been a long road and our colleagues should be aware of our zero tolerance to corruption.’
The two field rangers’ sentence includes:
- Count 1: Possession of unlicensed firearm
- Count 2: Possession of a prohibited firearm
- Count 3: Possession of unlicensed ammunition
- Count 4: Possession of dangerous weapon
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