Wildlife crime court issues over N$380 000 in fines

A total of N$383 700 in fines was issued to criminals involved in wildlife crimes during a special court set up in Windhoek in March last year.The court heard 22 cases, with seven cases postponed and 15 finalised. Five cases resulted in convictions and two in non-convictions, while 10 individuals were convicted and three were discharged.This is according to advocate Johannes Kalipi, the head of the environmental crime unit at the Office of the Prosecutor General, who provided a status report on the prosecution of wildlife crime cases in Namibia at the National Stakeholders Forum on Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement.NumbersThe statistics showed that from 15 June 2022 to 2 July 2023, a total of 409 convictions were finalised, of which only 16 resulted in fines.These included 291 Namibians, 62 Zambian and 27 Angolan citizens, 10 citizens from Bot-swana, eight Asians, seven South Africans, three Tanzanians and one Congolese citizen.Kalipi said during this period, a total of 679 cases had been registered, of which 472 are still ongoing and 175 have been finalised with a conviction.He emphasised that environmental crimes warrant attention because of their consequences, their human toll, their impact on the rule of law and good governance, and their links to violence, corruption and a range of other crimes.According to him, the global scale and impact of environmental crimes call for coordinated national and international enforcement to tackle this problem.

Wildlife crime court issues over N$380 000 in fines

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-08

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Wildlife crime court issues over N$380 000 in fines

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-08

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