prophet arrest namibia rhino poaching

Home » Well Known Prophet and Police Officer Arrested for Poaching in Namibia

Well Known Prophet and Police Officer Arrested for Poaching in Namibia

Jackson Babi, a well-known Prophet, along with a police officer attached to the Very Important Persons Protection Directorate, was amongst seven suspects arrested on Monday in Namibia for poaching and trading in wildlife contraband… writes Niël Terblanché from Informante. Lightning quick investigative work by members of the Protected Resources Division of the Namibian Police saw […]

By Guest Contributor
31-05-20 11:23
in Africa
prophet arrest namibia rhino poaching

Jackson Babi, a well-known Prophet, along with a police officer attached to the Very Important Persons Protection Directorate, was amongst seven suspects arrested on Monday in Namibia for poaching and trading in wildlife contraband… writes Niël Terblanché from Informante.

Lightning quick investigative work by members of the Protected Resources Division of the Namibian Police saw the arrest of the seven suspects on the same day that a farm worker discovered the carcasses of two illegally hunted rhinos on a farm in the Gobabis district.

According to an incident report issued by Romeo Muyunda, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the dead rhinos with their horns hacked off were discovered on Monday.

The follow up investigations led PRD Detectives to Otjiwarongo where an undercover operation was conducted. The VIPP police officer from Windhoek and three of his accomplices were arrested when they attempted to sell the freshly cut rhino horns to one of the undercover officers.

According to the report one of the suspects was however set free after questioning by detectives.

Information garnered from the first set of suspects in Otjiwarongo led detectives to the house of Prophet Babi in the Kleine Kuppe neighbourhood of Windhoek where two more rhino horns, a hunting rifle with ammunition were discovered and subsequently confiscated.

MAN OF GOD: Prophet Jackson Babi along with a police officer attached to the VIPP Directorate was among the seven suspects arrested after they were found in possession of wildlife contraband. Photo: Contributed
MAN OF GOD: Prophet Jackson Babi along with a police officer attached to the VIPP Directorate was among the seven suspects arrested after they were found in possession of wildlife contraband. Photo: Contributed

Four suspects among whom the two persons suspected of being responsible for shooting the rhinos near Gobabis were arrested. The two persons accused of poaching was at the house to hand over the horns to Prophet Babi and another accomplice.

According to Muyunda’s incident report detectives were able to directly link the two sets of rhino horn confiscated in Otjiwarongo and Windhoek along with the firearm and ammunition to the poaching incident on the farm near Gobabis.

This article first appeared on Informante and is republished here with Niël Terblanché’s kind permission.