A South African court in January sentenced four poachers to several years in prison for two separate crimes committed in Kruger National Park (KNP). The Skukuza Regional Court, which in the past has boasted a near-100% conviction rate and under whose jurisdiction KNP falls, held two South African citizens, Sam Khosa and Solly Selahle, and a Mozambican named Oddis Maluleke, guilty of poaching a rhino and taking its horns in February 2019. Khosa and Maluleke were handed a 22-year prison term and convicted on nine counts, including illegal rhino hunting, trespassing into KNP and possessing dangerous firearms. Selahle received a four-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit a crime. A field ranger who worked for South African National Parks (SANParks), which manages the country’s network of national parks, was also arrested for the crime, but he has since passed. “We are encouraged by the sentences handed down to these poachers,” said Maj. Gen. Zeph Mkhwanazi, the acting provincial commissioner of the police in Mpumalanga province, where part of KNP lies. “We hope that the sentences will serve as a deterrence to others who might consider emulating the actions of the accused persons.” Close on its heels, on Jan. 31, the Skukuza court handed a 12-year prison sentence to a Mozambican national, Simon Fenias Mbombi, for six counts of illegal activities in 2016, including trespassing into KNP, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of firearms. “We are very happy with the sentences — they are appropriate and bring encouragement to…This article was originally published on Mongabay