Six rhino poachers who escaped from a prison last year and were subsequently re-arrested were sentenced in the Makhanda High Court in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday.
Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Mischek Chauke, Simba Masinge, Nyamo Moyambo and Abraham Moyambo were found guilty on charges of conspiracy to poach rhinos.
All six are of Zimbabwean origin.
Francis was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Trymore to 17 years, Mischek to 16 years, Simba to 17 years, Nyamo to 19 years and Abraham to 18 years.
According to col. Priscilla Naidu, police spokesperson, the six were found guilty in September last year after they were involved in rhino poaching in several game reserves in the Eastern Cape between 2016 and 2018.
Five of the six convicted rhino poachers, including Nyamo, Francis, Trymore, Abraham and Simba, escaped from a prison in Makhanda in October last year.
They have since been re-arrested and an additional charge of escape from lawful custody has been filed against the accused.
Lt. Gen. Nomthetheleli Mene, the provincial police commissioner in the Eastern Cape, welcomed the heavy sentences.
The public prosecutor called the police’s livestock theft unit in Jeffreys Bay and Capt. Mornay Viljoen, Commander of Endangered Species, praised for their good investigative work.
“The conviction of conspiracy to poach rhinos is a breakthrough for the Eastern Cape,” confirms Naidu.
