Three members of the Ndlovu Gang have been found guilty in the Grahamstown High Court on 55 charges relating to the poaching of 13 rhinos in the Eastern Cape over five years. Presiding Judge Jeremy Pickering has recounted in his judgment that the physical and circumstantial evidence linked each of them to most of the 13 poaching incidents.
Jabulani Ndlovu, Forget Ndlovu and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu were arrested at Makana Resort outside Makhanda in June 2016, in possession of a freshly cut rhino horn along with tranquilizers, a dart gun, a saw and a knife.
Senior state prosecutor, Buks Coetzee says they’re happy with the judgment.
“We are elated because this is a combination of very long and hard hours of investigation by the police and preparation of the case. We had 10 different incidents of rhino poaching, planning for 3 years and apart from the last incident when they were arrested with the horn and other tools to carry on with the poaching. On all the other nine matters, the state had only had circumstantial evidence that is of cellphone records showing that they were near the scenes where the rhinos were poached,” says Coetzee.
