The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, congratulates members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) deployed into the Kruger National Park for arresting four alleged poachers. The Mozambican nationals were found in possession of hunting rifle, binoculars, axe and cell phones. They are expected to appear at Skukuza Magistrate Court today.
The SANDF had been asked by South African National Parks (SANParks) to play a strategic role in the protection of South African National Parks including the Kruger National Park. The SANDF company of soldiers responded to a call by deploying to the park on the borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe as from the beginning of April this year, 2011.
“We congratulate the SANDF members for arresting poachers. It has been 15 days since they deployed into the Park and we can see the results already. We will continue to work with the law enforcement agencies to secure our borders and to deal with rhino poaching”, said Minister Sisulu.
“Our national parks are our assets, we will protect them for the future and those who pose any threats to our animals will meet the full might of the law. We have declared war with poachers in all our parks,” added Minister Sisulu.
The SANDF is currently deployed along the Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho. At the end of the financial year 2012/13 the SANDF will cover the entire over 4471 kilometres of land between South Africa and Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, and Lesotho.
Enquiries:
Ndivhuwo Mabaya
Head of Media Services (Ministry Spokesperson)
Cell: 083 645 7838
