Trio found guilty of poaching EC rhinos

The three members of the notorious Ndlovu Gang have been found guilty of dozens of charges relating to the poaching of 13 rhinos in the Eastern Cape over some five years.

Jabulani Ndlovu, 40, Forget Ndlovu, 37, and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu, 38 sat poker faced as Judge Jeremy Pickering pronounced each of them guilty of over 50 charges related to the poaching of the 13 rhinos.

The men are not related.

Although Forget escaped conviction on charges relating to just one of the poaching incidents, it will probably make little difference to the stiff prison sentence the men may now face.

Pickering spent the morning recounting the damning physical and circumstantial evidence which linked each of the accused to most of the 13 poaching incidents.

At the lunch break the court orderly ushered the surprised men down into the court prison cell. They have been out on bail for the duration of their trial.

“You’ve been found guilty. Down you go,” he said.

The courtroom, which was packed to capacity, clapped loudly as the three men descended the stairs.

Green Scorpions director Div de Villiers said he was thrilled with the outcome.

“It is great news. A lot of work went into this over many years. We will wait for sentence before we celebrate but we are very happy with the judgment.”

The court room was packed to capacity.