Last week, rhino poaching kingpin Chief Clyde Mnisi (37) was shot and killed near Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. The recently appointed chief of Mnisi Tribal Authority was due to appear in court on April 17th for charges of murder, money laundering, and the illegal sale of rhino horns, amongst other crimes.
Mnisi was reportedly waiting for assistance on a punctured tyre when a group of heavily armed men in balaclavas and gloves arrived and before
Image source: Facebook shooting the chief multiple times, before fleeing the
scene.
According the prosecutors
and SAPS, Mnisi was a kingpin in the rhino horn trafficking network, and part of a syndicate which exerted influence over the Kruger and greater Kruger area.
He was released on bail in 2021 along with ex-police officer Joseph ‘ Big Joe’ Nyalungu who remains a free man after several poaching related arrests since 2010, Mabuza ‘Mr Big’ (who was gunned down later in 2021), as well as several others including police officers.
Image copyright @benswildlife
