Silas Mathebula, a 38-year-old Mozambican national, has been sentenced to 30 years in direct imprisonment after being found guilty of multiple poaching-related offences at the Skukuza Regional Court.
Mathebula was convicted on charges including trespassing, conspiracy to commit a crime, the killing of three rhinos, and the possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
The case stems from an incident on November 23, 2019, when a section ranger patrolling the Malelane Section encountered a suspicious vehicle with five occupants.
Upon stopping and searching the vehicle, the ranger uncovered a rifle, six fresh rhino horns, and ammunition. All five suspects—Zwelithini Mathebula, Lucky Mhlongo, Teddy Dlamini, Silas Mathebula, and Forster Lubisi—were arrested. Lubisi later drowned while attempting to flee from authorities.
Mathebula, along with co-accused Lucky Hlungwane, absconded after being granted bail. However, Mathebula was apprehended once again while committing a similar offence in KwaZulu-Natal’s Hluhluwe Game Reserve. He was subsequently transferred to Skukuza for trial.
During the trial, State Prosecutor Lot Mgiba presented substantial evidence, including testimony from the arresting ranger, DNA analysis linking the rhino horns to the carcasses of three poached rhinos, and ballistic evidence showing that bullets recovered from the rhino carcasses matched those fired from the firearms found in the suspects’ possession.
As part of the sentencing, the court also declared Mathebula unfit to possess a firearm under Section 103 of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000.