Suspected rhino poacher jailed for eight years on gun rap

Three co-accused on the run after absconding while on bail‚ two more discharged

A Hawks bust that led to the seizure of a hunting rifle with a silencer‚ a panga and blood-stained clothes from suspected rhino poachers has resulted in the conviction and sentencing of one of the six people arrested.

The Klerksdorp Regional Court today (Thursday) sentenced 33-year-old Bennet Navunga to eight years imprisonment after he was found guilty of possession on an unlicensed hunting rifle.

Navunga‚ a Mozambican national‚ was arrested in July 2013 in Klerksdorp‚ North West with five other suspects after the Hawks established that the suspects were intending to poach rhinos at a nearby game reserve. A roadblock was then set and the bakkie the suspects were travelling in was subsequently stopped. In searching the vehicle‚ the Hawks members found a hunting rifle with a silencer‚ a panga and blood-stained clothes.

“Three of the suspects were granted bail are still at large after they failed to present themselves in court and a warrant of arrest has been issued against them‚” police said in a statement. “Navunga and other two suspects were remanded in custody until September 2015 when he confessed that the firearm belonged to him and pleaded guilty.” The other two suspects were then set free.

Navunga will have to spend two-thirds of his sentence in prison before he becomes eligible for parole.