Masoka Dube
Five suspected rhino poachers claim they don’t know how old they are. They are accused of hunting rhino at a private game reserve in Low’s Creek, near Malalane, in Mpumalanga.
“We don’t have their ages because even they themselves don’t know. It is not easy for us to establish how old they are,” provincial police spokesman Sergeant Gerald Sedibe said yesterday.
He said the men, John Senatla, Elvis Mlimi, Bongani Sithole, Eliot Silinda and Sunnyboy Khoza, appeared in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court on charges of illegal hunting and possession of unlicensed firearms.
He said the men were remanded in custody and would apply for bail on Friday.
Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Hlathi said the men were arrested on Thursday, after police received a tip-off about a group of men who were about to jump the fence and sneak into the game reserve.
“They were armed with a rifle and butcher knives. Three were arrested while waiting for their two accomplices outside the reserve and a firearm was seized from them,” said Hlathi.
More than 159 rhino have been killed in the Kruger Park this year. Altogether 132 suspected poachers have been arrested nationwide. – AENS