Pals 'killed' by poacher

20 July 2007 - 02:00
By unknown

Sakhile Mokoena

Sakhile Mokoena

A Swazi illegal hunter allegedly killed two of his fellow poachers by mistake in South Africa.

He has been charged with murder and poaching in South Africa and with possession of an unlicensed firearm in Swaziland.

According to police, the three men crossed into South Africa illegally to hunt in the Low's Creek mountains near Barberton, Mpumalanga, on Tuesday night.

The two deceased men were separated from the suspect and he searched for them until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Police spokesman Captain Lucky Sithole said: "The man claims he saw a dog and fired shots.

"He later realised that he had killed his two friends."

Once he realised that he had killed his friends, the man allegedly left his catch, an unidentified animal, and fled back to Swaziland.

He informed the police there about what had happened and was charged with possession of an illegal firearm.

The Swazi police brought him to South Africa to identify the bodies and charges were laid by the SAPS.

The man will appear in court soon.