South African Police Spokesperson (SAPS), Selvy Mohlala, said today that the South African court in Skukuza, Mpumalanga province, has sentenced two Mozambican citizens, and one South African to eight years in prison for illegal hunting in the Kruger national park.

The Mozambicans, Rodrigues Ngobeni, 34, and George Manyise, 30, along with the South African, Sibusiso Mahlaule, 29, were sentenced last Friday.

The three men saw conviction for illegal rhino hunting in April 2021 in that South African national park, which borders Mozambique.

According to the South African spokesman, the accused were sentenced respectively to two years in prison for trespassing, and five years for conspiracy to commit crime.

The Mozambican poachers were sentenced to another year in prison for violating the Immigration law, for being in the country illegally, Selvy Mohlala said.

Last month, South African courts sentenced two Mozambican poachers to 23 years in prison for illegally slaughtering two rhinos in Kruger National Park, northeast South Africa.

The number of rhino deaths by poachers in South Africa, the country with the largest number of this species in the world, increased by 14.5% in 2021 compared to 2020, the Pretoria government announced.

South Africa currently has about 20,000 rhinos, the largest reserve of these animals in the world.

Source: rtp