Timbavati ranger’s murder — 2 years on, campaign launched to bolster hunt for Anton Mzimba’s killers

Anton Mzimba on Patrol with the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve Team. (Photo: Nick Smith | Global Conservation Corps)

By Abigail Baard

15 Jan 2025

It’s been more than two years since Anton Mzimba was murdered and friends, family and colleagues are still waiting for justice. Mzimba was head of ranger services at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve when he was gunned down outside his home. Now, the ‘Justice for Anton Mzimba’ campaign is raising funds for the investigation.

On 26 July 2022, Anton Mzimba was gunned down outside his home in Edinburgh Trust near Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga. More than two years later justice has yet to be served.

Mzimba’s career at Timbavati spanned more than 25 years and as head of ranger services he oversaw a team of 40 rangers. He was also involved in educating young people in his community and trained hundreds of rangers at the Southern African Wildlife College.

Read more: The violent death of Timbavati ranger Anton Mzimba mourned by conservationists worldwide

Mzimba was always willing to help those around him to grow into better people, he always led from the front and gave those who worked with him a platform to share their views, said Orlat Ndlovu, Mzimba’s second cousin who has taken over from Mzimba as head of ranger services. He was a conservationist at heart and made many fall in love with nature, said Ndlovu.

Before his murder Mzimba had been receiving threats, according to John Jurko II, one of the directors and producers of Rhino Man, a documentary that follows Mzimba as he protects Timbavati’s wildlife and rhinos, revealing the challenges and threats rangers face daily. It was released on 26 July 2024 on the anniversary of his death.

Voice notes Mzimba had sent Jurko II, included at the end of the documentary, reveal the threats, said the director. The documentary team sent resources to help Mzimba while he was receiving the threats, but after a few months, when they thought the threats had abated, Mzimba was shot, said Jurko II.

When the Timbavati rangers learnt of Mzimba’s murder they were shocked, even though they knew people wanted him dead. “We were not expecting it to happen,” Ndlovu said.

No arrests have been made as the investigation continues.

From left: John Jurko II, Anton Mzimba and executive director Matt Lindenberg. (Photo: John Jurko II)

‘Justice for Anton Mzimba’

“Many rangers in the Kruger area and beyond are facing threats similar to Anton’s. If these criminals can operate with impunity how can we expect rangers to do their critical jobs? More awareness, resources and support must [be] brought to bear. Anton’s case must be an example,” according to the “Justice for Anton Mzimba” campaign.

Spearheaded by Jurko II, the campaign aims to bring awareness and resources to the investigation, including between R55,000 and R100,000 for a reward for information that leads to a conviction. It has raised enough to put up a reward of between $3,000 and $5,000 (about R95,000), said Jurko II.

“A reward, if offered, may persuade someone who has information vital to the investigation to come forward and provide such. Such a reward will be coupled with certain requirements to ensure the validity of information provided,” Major General Nicholas Jacobus Gerber told Daily Maverick. Gerber is head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Mpumalanga.

The campaign also aims to raise R550,000 to support Focused Conservation, a US nonprofit company helping South African law enforcement in the investigation.

“Our team at Focused Conservation has hundreds of years’ experience in international law enforcement among the various employees we have. We like to offer mentoring/advice or any other support we can when wanted,” said William Brown, the nonprofit’s chief executive.

The investigation

Mzimba’s murder “sent shockwaves through the wildlife industry”, said Gerber. “Wildlife, including other commodities [are] valued treasures and must be protected at all cost. It is important that would-be criminals know this, and that despite the dangers faced we would continue without fear or favour.”

Law enforcement faced several challenges when tackling poaching-related crime in the Kruger Park and surrounding areas. Some people saw poaching as an opportunity to make money and they protect those involved, while “syndicate leaders support the communities and are seen as heroes”.

Read more: Kruger Park ensnared in corruption linked to criminal syndicates – report

The lack of intelligence around the park also poses a challenge, Gerber pointed out.

“The Hawks are very capable when the resources are available,” said Brown. However, South Africa was losing a lot of its experienced investigators.

Since the murder is under investigation the Hawks cannot comment on the case, Gerber told Daily Maverick, saying only that “we have followed up on all leads and have engaged external stakeholders to assist in some aspects of the case”.

About working with Focused Conservation Gerber said the Hawks followed “a multidisciplinary approach in our investigations. The support of all stakeholders is needed to successfully combat wildlife crime.”

Anton Mzimba on patrol with the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve team. (Photo: Nick Smith / Global Conservation Corps)

The investigation’s impact

Mzimba’s murder sparked fear in most Timbavati rangers, said Ndlovu. They worried that if rangers did well in the industry, they were likely to be targeted.

However, he added, ranger training equips them to overcome the shock, so they can continue their work. When rangers received threats to stop doing their work, it fuelled them to “come back stronger”.

Ndlovu stressed that there should be awareness about Mzimba’s case, because he risked his life to protect rhinos and other wildlife so that the next generation can enjoy nature, and because the same thing could happen to other rangers doing this difficult job.

If people stood up and demanded answers about Mzimba’s murder, the rangers would know they had support and were not in this fight alone.

Ndlovu “strongly believed” the killers would be brought to book. “We are always hopeful even though it [is taking] longer than we anticipated to get the culprits.”

Rhino Man

After meeting Mzimba, Jurko II knew he wanted the documentary to be about people and telling the rangers’ stories. Mzimba’s kind-heartedness and passion for and dedication to protecting wildlife had inspired this human approach. The documentary reveals the human cost of illegal wildlife trafficking.

The documentary has been shown to Prince William and has received Jackson Wild and Panda awards, which are considered the Oscars of conservation filmmaking in the US and the UK, said Jurko II.

It has won eight awards, with three nominations, and been screened at more than 20 festivals. It can be streamed on all major platforms including Amazon Prime, Apple, Google, YouTube and Vimeo. DM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk

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South Africa

‘Justice for Anton Mzimba’

The investigation

The investigation’s impact

Rhino Man