South Africa: Alleged Rhino Poaching Kingpin Gunned Down Near Kruger Park

flowcomm / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
A rhino in the Kruger National Park (file photo).
27 March 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By Don Pinnock

Yet another suspected poacher 'big man' has died in a hail of bullets in Mpumalanga's landscape of fear.

Chief Clyde Mnisi, trailing charges of murder, money laundering, illegal sale of rhino horn and racketeering, died of multiple bullet wounds near Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport near White River late Sunday night.

Mnisi was recently appointed as chief of the Mnisi Tribal Authority in Bushbuckridge. Police and prosecutors allege he is one of the "kingpins" in a massive poached rhino horn trafficking network.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, Mnisi and a driver were waiting for help with a flat tyre when about five hooded men drove up in a BMW X5, walked to the passenger side and opened fire with high-calibre rifles.

The driver was shot in the leg and is receiving treatment.

Previous arrests

In 2018 Mnisi, with (later assassinated) crime boss Petros Mabuza and notorious ex-cop Joseph 'Big Joe' Nyalungu, were arrested in a police operation codenamed Project Broadbill, involving members of the Hawks, the police special task forces, SANParks, the NPA, the SA Revenue Service and the Department of Environmental Affairs.

Assets worth millions were seized, including properties, cars, trucks, stolen trailers, generators, electronic equipment and animal skins. Among those arrested were five police officers, including a captain and former Kruger Park station commander at...

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