Police made a major breakthrough with the arrest at the weekend of seven suspected rhino poachers, including the two convicted poachers who were part of a shocking prison breakout seven months ago.
Retired veteran state advocate Buks Coetzee has finally been able to represent the state in one of several rhino poaching trials he has been prosecuting after he was given a contract with the National Prosecuting Authority
In a race against time, the Eastern Cape office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is applying for senior state advocate Buks Coetzee to be awarded a temporary post-retirement contract to allow him to finalise four key rhino-poaching cases.
Five major rhino-poaching trials in the Eastern Cape with a total of 23 accused will remain in limbo if veteran state advocate Buks Coetzee, who retired in January, is not contracted by the National Prosecuting Authority to oversee their completion.
A fugitive rhino poacher who escaped from prison before being sentenced has been rearrested, caught scaling the fence of a private game reserve near Makhanda, hunting implements allegedly in hand.