Corruption: Kruger rhinos under siege
Jamie Joseph | Saving the Wild : One week ago I asked the public to share the #KeepDonInTheIPZ post in an urgent effort to save hundreds of rhinos. Thank you, momentum is building. And now it’s time for round two. After SANParks was inundated with media enquires and forced to make a statement, as expected the statement was just more of the same rhetoric. And so now I am being forced to expose massive corruption. We need to keep chipping away. We are down to the last of the rhinos, and we all can and must do more.
Please share this post and support Kruger rangers.
Yesterday South Africa’s environment Minister Creecy reached out to me via email to say she is turning down my offer of information that can stop the poaching onslaught, and instead referred me to the Chairperson of the SANParks Board – even though I had already explained to her that SANParks is compromised. Minister Creecy is well aware of my six year record exposing massive state corruption, and at least we now know for certain who’s side she is on.
Saving the Wild responds to SANParks bizarre reasoning for initiating the move of Kruger Regional Ranger Don English out of the rhino IPZ – intense protection zone – and up north where there are few rhinos.
SANParks summarised statement to the press in response to public outcry over the move:
The KNP rhino population has been on the decline for the past 10 years despite the many efforts that are in place to secure it. Despite the huge effort of our Rangers and great cost to SANParks, the organisation has struggled to reverse these trends. This is due to a range of factors repeatedly reported by SANParks in the media.
Regional Ranger Don English has extensive experience in anti-poaching and conservation matters and his skills are valuable in managing the ecosystem in the KNP collectively with the entire management team.”
//END SANParks
Saving the Wild Response: Is Don English being shifted out of the Kruger IPZ because he exposed internal corruption?
SANParks reports to media do not match the reality.
If SANParks would sincerely like to save a lot more rhinos, one quick fix is to make polygraphs mandatory for everyone in Kruger working with rhinos, every year, and root out the rot – the criminals masquerading as rangers, gate staff and other personnel with access.
If the most respected senior rangers in Kruger were allowed to speak, they would tell the world that they are being forced to work with criminals and most of the poaching in Kruger is a result of this. Fact.
According to SANParks response to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Environment, dated February 2021, “Polygraph integrity tests were conducted about four years ago, however, there was resistance by some of the staff members. This then led to the development of the policy to make integrity testing compulsory. There has been an agreement reached with the unions that frequent testing should be conducted for officials working with rhinos.”
Wow. Four years later, and hundreds of dead rhinos, and finally there has been an agreement to have mandatory polygraphs. Even better than an agreement is action. This agreement sitting on someone’s desk while rhinos are being slaughtered is not productive.
Don English leads the charge in exposing internal corruption in Kruger, and if it were not for him Kruger would have lost a lot more rhinos. This is one reason why moving him up north makes absolutely no sense. He is irreplaceable.
SHOCKING KRUGER POLYGRAPH STATISTIC
During the rising onslaught of internal corruption in recent years, there was a period when 40 rangers were polygraphed – 16 passed and 24 failed. Of the “rangers” who failed there was no consequence. Private parks root out the corruption through polygraphing – this is key to their success – and has been widely proven over the years through statistics that show a sharp downtrend in poaching once polygraphs are introduced. We are dealing with organised crime and SANParks management needs to react accordingly. As far back as the end of 2016, I spent a few days based at Southern African Wildlife College where Kruger rangers are trained, and even back then CEO Theresa Sowry was devastated by how many Kruger “rangers” were failing their polygraphs.
Are we training criminals to keep an eye on their targets?
Saving the Wild does not have a direct working relationship with Don English, however our paths have crossed many times over the years because we both pursue high level targets and we both expose state corruption – and that makes us unpopular with certain high ranking members of state. Our paths first crossed in 2018, coinciding with the arrest of alleged Kruger kingpin Petros Mabuza – Saving the Wild ran the intel and the Hawks Police ran the operation.
Our paths crossed again at Kruger’s Skukuza Court when I was attending the bail hearing on 13 March 2019 – This was before Skukuza Court was sabotaged by the Court President.
On Tuesday, 26 February 2019, SANParks reported that “Kruger National Park (KNP) Rangers conducting anti-poaching operations in the south of the Park arrested two SANParks Field Ranger colleagues for alleged involvement in poaching activities. During the arrest supported by the SAPS, a heavy calibre firearm, ammunition and poaching related equipment was confiscated.”
Don English ran the intel, and this is the case for almost all of the internal corruption busts in Kruger. The prize for his bravery was that the alleged poachers/rangers caught red handed then responded with trumped up charges against him, which led to his suspension in October 2019 for two months, during which time rhino poaching more than doubled.
The rangers arrested for rhino poaching were reinstated by SANParks, and are back in Kruger keeping a close eye on the rhinos…for who, is the part that is most concerning.
“As I stood outside court after the rangers were granted bail I watched one of Mabuza’s henchmen slide up to the rangers legal counsel and pull out of his pocket a huge wad of R100 notes. Bail was only set at R5000 each, but the money man had come prepared, for whatever it took.”
-Jamie Joseph
Further reading: How Kruger lost 70% of its rhinos.
During the trumped up suspension of Don English from October to December 2019 poaching more than doubled from single figures per month to more than 50 dead rhinos over the two month period.
Again poaching more than doubled towards the end of last year when Don was off for two months for a knee replacement, from single figures either side to a loss of 56 rhinos killed in the IPZ over the off period.
Just before he went into surgery he ran the intel that resulted in three SANParks staff members being arrested with rhino horns. This operation was in collaboration with Sabi Sands and CEO Oscar Mthimkhulu can confirm how critical Don English is to the private parks in Greater Kruger. Had the traitors not been captured the poaching would have been a lot worse while he was in hospital.
In the October 2020 statement to the press, Kruger National Park managing executive Gareth Coleman said that “SANParks remains committed to doing everything in its power to stop poaching.”
But ‘everything’ would include mandatory polygraphs on a regular basis.
Kruger has lost nearly 70% of its rhinos in the last ten years, and yet SANParks continues to ignore the wishes of their most experienced rangers and implementations that would save rhinos. Everything would include rewarded rangers and not persecuting them for exposing internal corruption. Everything would include supporting the rangers during a time when morale is at its lowest.
Can you imagine what it’s like for the rangers, being forced to work with criminals? They can’t plan operations, and they’re constantly watching their backs. If SANParks want to save Kruger rhinos, it’s really simple; keep Don English in the IPZ, introduce mandatory polygraphs, and get rid of these criminals masquerading as rangers. We are never going to win if the enemy is within.
South Africa’s rhinos are tumbling into extinction, and there are many people who can verify the contents of this post and make comments to the press, even off the record. We understand the risks of standing up to SANParks – but if rhinos go extinct on your watch you will look back at this moment and you will regret not speaking truth to power.
Go public. There is strength in numbers.
Please share this post and follow the updates on Saving the Wild Instagram and Facebook – #KeepDonInTheIPZ.
“Don has done wonderful work in the IPZ, but has, at times, paid an unbelievable price for it. “
-State prosecutor Ansie Venter | Lowvelder ‘Controversy surrounds Kruger
