Source: Save the Beasts. Stop the Slaughter Facebook Page
ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST WANTED RHINO POACHERS HAS FIRED HIS LAST SHOT
November 14 2019
Simon Bloch
One of South Africa’s most notorious rhino poachers has been killed in a shootout with rangers, just months after he was arrested and released on bail.
Siphiwe Shezi, 38, a prolific rhino poacher from Siyenbeni near Mtubatuba, Zululand, was one of two men shot dead inside the country’s flagship iMfolozi Game Reserve on Tuesday, after they were confronted by rangers shortly after daybreak.
Responding to this reporter’s inquiry, SAPS Colonel Thembeka Mbele said:
“We can confirm two people were fatally shot at a game reserve. One of the deceased suspects has been identified as Siphiwe Shezi (38) while the other has not yet been identified.
"We can also confirm that Shezi was one of six suspects arrested in May this year in the Vryheid matter you inquired about" Colonel Mbele said.
“At about 6.30 am on Tuesday, field rangers spotted and engaged three people inside the game reserve who allegedly attempted to shoot at them.
“Gunshots were exchanged and a 38-year-old male identified as Shezi was fatally wounded. A rifle with eight rounds of ammunition was recovered” she said.
After backup rangers were deployed, a second as yet unidentified member of the group was shot and killed by a field ranger after he allegedly attacked a colleague with a knife.
The third suspect managed to evade arrest. It is unclear whether scent-trained dogs were used to track the suspect.
Strangely, the elusive Shezi and five accomplices were released from police custody in August this year while awaiting trial on a separate rhino horn related matter. This angered law enforcement officials who had worked tirelessly to nail him.
He was nabbed in an intelligence-driven operation in late May, when two vehicles the group was travelling in, were pulled over on the Melmoth-Vryheid road and searched. Four rhino horns were recovered.
Shezi and five others were charged in the Vryheid Magistrates Court on May 27 and held in custody for just two months before all six suspects were suddenly granted bail.
Questions around leniency in rhino poaching cases sent to the Department of Justice and the National Prosecution Authority remain unanswered, and a member at the court said they were under strict instructions not to discuss the case with the media.
Separately, a confidential source close to the matter criticized the criminal justice system, and said rangers and law enforcement officers felt betrayed.
“Shezi ranked as one of the country’s most wanted rhino poaching suspects and yet despite the overwhelming evidence against him, the courts still granted bail and released him.
“Being arrested for rhino poaching is like a perpetual debt trap for poachers. These criminals find themselves indebted to their syndicate bosses, and upon bail and release, they are forced to immediately go out and kill more rhino for horns.
“It’s literally becomes a vicious cycle for poachers who owe their bosses for bail amounts, attorney fees, transport costs, as well as the losses of confiscated vehicles and confiscated weapons. It’s unsustainable” he said.
Shezi was due back in court on December 5th to face trial on charges related to his arrest in May.
Asked repeatedly to verify reports that Shezi had been killed at iMfolozi on Tuesday, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesman Musa Mntambo said:
“No comment”.
ENDS
ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST WANTED RHINO POACHERS HAS FIRED HIS LAST SHOT
November 14 2019
Simon Bloch
One of South Africa’s most notorious rhino poachers has been killed in a shootout with rangers, just months after he was arrested and released on bail.
Siphiwe Shezi, 38, a prolific rhino poacher from Siyenbeni near Mtubatuba, Zululand, was one of two men shot dead inside the country’s flagship iMfolozi Game Reserve on Tuesday, after they were confronted by rangers shortly after daybreak.
Responding to this reporter’s inquiry, SAPS Colonel Thembeka Mbele said:
“We can confirm two people were fatally shot at a game reserve. One of the deceased suspects has been identified as Siphiwe Shezi (38) while the other has not yet been identified.
"We can also confirm that Shezi was one of six suspects arrested in May this year in the Vryheid matter you inquired about" Colonel Mbele said.
“At about 6.30 am on Tuesday, field rangers spotted and engaged three people inside the game reserve who allegedly attempted to shoot at them.
“Gunshots were exchanged and a 38-year-old male identified as Shezi was fatally wounded. A rifle with eight rounds of ammunition was recovered” she said.
After backup rangers were deployed, a second as yet unidentified member of the group was shot and killed by a field ranger after he allegedly attacked a colleague with a knife.
The third suspect managed to evade arrest. It is unclear whether scent-trained dogs were used to track the suspect.
Strangely, the elusive Shezi and five accomplices were released from police custody in August this year while awaiting trial on a separate rhino horn related matter. This angered law enforcement officials who had worked tirelessly to nail him.
He was nabbed in an intelligence-driven operation in late May, when two vehicles the group was travelling in, were pulled over on the Melmoth-Vryheid road and searched. Four rhino horns were recovered.
Shezi and five others were charged in the Vryheid Magistrates Court on May 27 and held in custody for just two months before all six suspects were suddenly granted bail.
Questions around leniency in rhino poaching cases sent to the Department of Justice and the National Prosecution Authority remain unanswered, and a member at the court said they were under strict instructions not to discuss the case with the media.
Separately, a confidential source close to the matter criticized the criminal justice system, and said rangers and law enforcement officers felt betrayed.
“Shezi ranked as one of the country’s most wanted rhino poaching suspects and yet despite the overwhelming evidence against him, the courts still granted bail and released him.
“Being arrested for rhino poaching is like a perpetual debt trap for poachers. These criminals find themselves indebted to their syndicate bosses, and upon bail and release, they are forced to immediately go out and kill more rhino for horns.
“It’s literally becomes a vicious cycle for poachers who owe their bosses for bail amounts, attorney fees, transport costs, as well as the losses of confiscated vehicles and confiscated weapons. It’s unsustainable” he said.
Shezi was due back in court on December 5th to face trial on charges related to his arrest in May.
Asked repeatedly to verify reports that Shezi had been killed at iMfolozi on Tuesday, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesman Musa Mntambo said:
“No comment”.
ENDS
