UPDATE 10am Wednesday 12 April:
South African Police Service spoksperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli issued the following statement:
On Tuesday, 11 April 2023, the accused person, Abraham Moyana (34), briefly appeared in the Makhanda magistrate’s court on a charge of Conspiracy to commit poaching, and was remanded in custody for a formal bail application on Tuesday, 18 April 2023. He was subsequently charged for escaping, and his case was postponed for further investigation to Wednesday, 3 May 2023.
UPDATE 2pm Tuesday 11 April:
Details have been shared of what circumstances led to the arrest of convicted rhino poacher Abraham Moyane in the early hours of Monday 10 April.
South African Police Service spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said Moyane was re-arrested by the *SAPS Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit, working alongside the reserve’s Anti-Poaching Unit. Nkohli said:
“It is alleged that on Monday, 10 April 2023 at about 2am, three suspicious people were seen jumping over a fence of a private game reserve near Makhanda. Reaction was immediate and the anti-poaching unit was activated which resulted in the arrest of one of the three suspects. The other two managed to flee. The suspect was found in possession of hunting implements, and was detained for contravening the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 Sec 57 (attempted hunting of a threatened or protected species without a permit).”
Preliminary investigation had revealed that the suspect was one of the seven inmates, who escaped from the Makhanda Correctional Service facility in October last year. The 34-year-old suspect is due to appear in the Makhanda magistrate’s court tomorrow on charges of contravention of the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act.
UPDATE 9am Tuesday 11 April:
The Department of Correctional Services has confirmed that one of the convicted rhino poachers who escaped from the Grahamstown Correctional Facility in Makhanda was rearrested yesterday. Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed to Talk of the Town: “The Department of Correctional Services is able to confirm the rearrest of Abraham Moyane from the group of seven that had escaped from Grahamstown Correctional Centre in October 2022. The remaining four are still at large and search is still on as the mission is to find all of them and be brought back behind bars.”
ORIGINAL POST:
Police have confirmed the arrest of one of the five convicted rhino poachers who escaped from prison in Makhanda in October last year. “We can confirm the arrest and that he was involved in attempted poaching at one of the private game reserves,” South African Police Service spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli told talk of the Town.
Seven men escaped from Grahamstown Correctional Facility in October 2022. One of them, convicted poacher Trymore Chauke was arrested at Seven Fountains around 7pm on Sunday 23 October. Chauke is one of six rhino poachers convicted in the Makhanda High Court in September 2022, due to be sentenced on 4 November 2022. He escaped in the early hours of Tuesday 18 October together with four other members of the Chitiyo rhino-poaching gang as well as Bennet Kwarrie, detained for housebreaking and theft and attempted murder and Luvuyo September, detained for charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery.
Regarding yesterday’s arrest, police have not yet released the name of the poacher who was arrested on Monday 10 April 2023 or Tuesday 11 April 2023 (police did not confirm when the arrest was made).
Talk of the Town is aware that more details have been shared on social media regarding yesterday’s arrest; however, in the interest of the investigation we will update you further only as we get it confirmed from official sources.
Updates to follow.
*An earlier version referred to the SAPS anti-poaching unit. THis has been corrected.