A rhino poacher was sentenced to eight years´ direct imprisonment by the Waterval Magistrate’s Court last Friday.

Robert Ndou (48) was charged with single counts of the possession of ammunition, trespassing and catching a specially protected wild animal respectively, following an incident in November 2009.

Ndou was caught hiding under a tree near the carcass of a female rhino on Eckland Farms. Samuel Kata, a farm worker, alerted the farm manager, Monty van Niekerk, after he heard a shot.

The police were notified and the area was searched very thoroughly. The search party also included the help of local businessman Brink Schlesinger’s helicopter.

After a while, they managed to find a set of tracks which they followed to the location of the dead rhino. Near the carcass of the rhino, a calf was found and rushed to veterinary services. The horns on both the cow and calf were still intact. The calf was not physically harmed. However, the value of the cow was determined at about R500 000.

When police searched Ndou’s home the following day, four rounds of ammunition were found. This included .308, .458 and .410 rounds, as well as one round for a 12-gauge shotgun.

During his trial, Ndou proclaimed his innocence and said that he had never poached the rhino. He also claimed the ammunition that was found in his room was given to him by his employers. Ndou worked as a part-time skinner on the neighbouring farm Old Days.

Ndou was found guilty on the first charge and sentenced to eight years´ imprisonment. On the charge of trespassing he was found not guilty, while he was found guilty for the possession of illegal ammunition, for which he received a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for five years.