Mpumalanga police have welcomed the 14-year sentence two former SANParks rangers were handed recently for rhino poaching.
Acting Provincial Commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanzi, hoped that this sentencing would deter other individuals from poaching.
“The sentence sends a strong message that poaching will not be tolerated, and those responsible will face the full force of the law. The two poachers have been declared unfit to possess a firearm,” said Mkhwanazi in a statement.
Rhino poachers, Freedom Mabile, 38, and Tshifhiwa Ramuhashi, 49, were convicted of poaching a rhinoceros at the Kruger National Park in May 2018.
The two former SANParks rangers were found guilty and sentenced before the Skukuza Magistrate’s Court on 12 September. The court sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment for illegally hunting a rhinoceros. They received 4 years for conspiracy to commit such an offense.
“The court heard that on 03 May 2018, tourists at Olifants Camp, in the Kruger National Park, indicated that they heard sounds of gunshots, leading to an investigation.
“Mabilane and Ramuhashi initially admitted to having fired shots at an elephant that was charging them, but evidence later revealed that they had actually hunted and killed a rhinoceros in the park,” police stated.
Mkhwanazi commended the SANParks officials, the police, and the judiciary for ensuring that the perpetrators of rhino poaching were brought to book.
SANParks rhino poaching incidents on the rise
According to the conservation group, Save the Rhino, 103 rhinos were poached in South Africa in the first three months of 2025.
Rhino poaching cases have escalated at SANParks, with 65 rhinos being killed in the first quarter of 2025. In 2024, 88 rhinos were poached for the entire year.
Rhino killings in KwaZulu-Natal, notorious for rhino poaching, dropped in the first quarter to 16. In 2024, the province had 58 of its rhinos killed during this timeline.
