JOHANNESBURG - Two men convicted of rhino poaching at South Africa's Kruger National Park were sentenced to 15 years in jail each in the Saselamani Magistrate's Court in Limpopo on Thursday.
Joseph Molapo and Sebastian Mbhombhi and another accomplice entered the park illegally with the intention to hunt for rhino horns, said police spokesman Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe.
''A shootout ensued between the park rangers and the poachers, resulting in one of the suspects being fatally wounded. The remaining two, Molapo and Mhombhi, were arrested inside the park.''
The two were found guilty of rhino poaching, trespassing and possession of unlicensed firearms. They both received four years for poaching, 11 for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition and six months for trespassing. The court declared them unfit to possess firearms.
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