Bail-jumping Kruger National Park rhino poacher put behind bars for 20 years

Mozambican national Nelson Sandile Sambo has been jailed for 20 years for rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park.

Sambo (43) was arrested by SA National Parks field rangers in December 2020 after he and an accomplice shot and then hacked off the horns of two rhinos in the Stolznek section of the park.

Sambo and Gabriel Chauke were granted bail soon after their arrest, but both suspects promptly jumped bail.

While Chauke remains at large, Sambo was re-arrested in 2023 and has now been jailed for 20 years after he pleaded guilty to several charges in the Skukuza Regional Court this week.

The regional court, located in the heart of the country’s premier national park, has handed down several stiff sentences to rhino poachers – despite several attempts to have it shut it down or to transfer cases to other courts outside the park.

It remains unclear which court granted bail to these two suspects.

However, in a media statement on 24 April, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Monica Nyuswa confirmed that Sambo has now been sent to jail for two decades following another successful conviction in the Skukuza court.

Nyuswa said Sambo had pleaded guilty to seven charges, including trespassing, killing two rhinos, as well as a number of firearm and ammunition offences.

“In aggravation of sentence, [NPA] Prosecutor Lot Mgiba presented overwhelming DNA evidence found on Chauke’s clothes linking him to the rhino carcasses. Positive DNA evidence showing that the bullet was fired from a firearm found in the accused’s possession was also presented,” the NPA stated.

“The NPA welcomes the sentence, and reaffirms its commitment to holding offenders accountable and protecting South Africa’s wildlife for future generations,” said the NPA. DM

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