WILDLEX

The accused and three other men were inside the Ndumo Game Reserve on 19 November 2011 at 17:00. One man was carrying a firearm. Game rangers patrolling in the Reserve caught sight of the men in pursuit of a rhino. The rangers ordered the man to put down the firearm. Instead, he turned and pointed it at the rangers.

At the heart of this matter were the customary rights to marine resources. The appellants were tried at the Magistrate court and later appealed to the High Court in Mthatha. The Hight Court, however, held that their conduct was unlawful because they had not applied for an exemption as contemplated in the MLRA, granting them a permit to fish.

The court held that the appellants were protecting the lives of the cubs and as well as their legal interest in the survical of the cubs as the owners of the very expensive animals.

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.