Mozambique: Local Soldiers Detained for Rhino Poaching

23 December 2011

Maputo — Five soldiers of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM), stationed in Massingir district, in the southern province of Gaza, have been arrested in connection with the poaching of rhinoceros across the border, in South Africa's Kruger National Park.

According to a Friday report on Radio Mozambique, the five were arrested following a clash inside the Kruger Park between park wardens and poachers who were hunting rhinos under cover of darkness.

During the exchange of fire, the wardens shot and killed a Mozambican soldier named Bento Zeca Pequenino, and wounded a second, Silva Ngovene. The wardens also seized the AK-47 assault rifles they were using to kill rhinos.

The press attache in the Mozambican Defence Ministry confirmed the death of Pequenino. His body was returned and he has been buried in Massingir town.

Ngovene is still undergoing medical treatment in South Africa.

Rhino poaching soared to record levels in South Africa in 2011. From January up until mid-December 443 South African rhinos are known to have been killed by poachers.

The poaching is driven by demand for rhino horn in Asia, where it is believed to have medicinal qualities.

In fact rhino horn, far from being an aphrodisiac or cure for cancer, consists of keratin, the same substance that human hair and fingernails are made of.