WILDLEX

On 17 – 18 June 2016 at Bucklands Farm, in the district of Albany, in the course of which a white rhino known as Cambell, belonging to one Ian Steward, was darted with a tranquilizer gun and its horn removed, resulting in the death of the rhino. The police were working on Operation Full Moon as Rhino poaching was rife.

In October 2015, ENDELE NNANGA Léonce Fernand organized a hunting expedition in the AYINA forest composed of 9 individuals to whom he gave provisions, arm, and ammunitions for the killing of elephants for tusks extraction. This expedition team included trackers, porters, cooks, shooters.

The appellant was found guilty of hunting and killing one elephant without a licence and it was against that conviction that he filed the appeal in the High Court. The appellant had been convicted but the charge was defective in that it failed to disclose an offence.

This is an appeal against the conviction and sentence of a fine of P100 passed by the Chief Magistrate at Francistown on 8th April, 1982 on a charge of failing to report a Government trophy contrary to section 82 (1) as read with section 82 (2) of the Fauna Conservation Act Cap 38:01 as amended by Act No. I of 1979.

The appellant was found to have been complicit in the transaction where a fake rhino horn was sold in a police trap for R350 000. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. The appellant unsuccessfully appealed to the Free State High Court against his conviction and sentence.

The accused were previously convicted on various counts, by the same court and the matter came for sentencing on a later date. The Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1977, prescribes a discretionary minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment per count for amounts of more than R500 000; for the ten counts on theft of rhino horns.

The appellant was found guilty in the Upington Magistrate’s Court, and appealed his conviction and sentence to the Northern Cape High Court where the conviction and sentence on the first count was set aside, and the conviction on the second count confirmed but the sentence was amended.

The appellant was stopped by the police, as he drove away from the scene and was brought back to the scene. He was found in possession of keys to specific Units and cell phones. The Manageress testified that Unit 12 was leased by the appellant.

Accused persons were found guilty of unlawful possession of 2 horns in contravention of the Game Act. The Act prescribes that a person found guilty of the offence must either replace the game or compensate the full value of the property to the owner or government in cases where the owner cannot be established.

The appellants were convicted own their pleas of conspiring to commit an offence of illegal hunting of a rhinoceros, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition in the magistrate court. They were sentenced to 5 years imprisonment each for count 1 and 4 years imprisonment each for count 3.