'Poachers' beat man with stones

A bus full of tourists witnessed Namibia&#039;s ongoing struggle to protect its precious wildlife first-hand last Thursday on a dirt road outside Solitaire. The tourists arrived just as three suspected poachers were beating Steven Louw with stones."They attacked me when I fell out on the right side of the vehicle," Louw said. "The men were on top of me and hit me over the head with stones. I was almost unconscious, but I fought back, even though they beat me so hard."I got a stone in my hands and just decided I had to fight. That was when the bus got there. The arrival of the bus at that moment saved my life," he narrated.The incident started earlier that day when Louw saw unknown men on the family farm Rostock, driving a bakkie in the distance. He followed them, and later saw them hurriedly loading a gemsbok carcass onto the vehicle. “I realised they were poachers and immediately started calling for help,” he said. The suspected poachers tried to escape, leading to Louw giving chase. The pursuit, which took them through the dusty Kuiseb canyon, ended in Louw hitting the alleged poachers’ bakkie from behind. The impact caused his vehicle to slide downhill, where the men attacked him when he tried to get out."You don&#039;t realise how dangerous [poachers] are. It was frantic. I almost lost my life,” Louw said.According to the police, two of the suspects have been arrested.

'Poachers' beat man with stones

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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'Poachers' beat man with stones

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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