Police at Masisi, in the Vhembe District of Limpopo, have arrested five men between the ages of 28 and 42, at Bennde-Mutale and Nkotswi villages for defeating the ends of justice and illegal hunting.
Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, provincial police spokesperson in Limpopo said the accused men were arrested on Sunday.
The group of men was illegally hunting for buffalo in the Kruger National Park when one of them was attacked by a buffalo.
“The group shot the buffalo and one of the accomplices removed the injured victim, who was deceased, from the scene and placed him next to the fence of the park. One of them returned home to inform relatives to come and pick him up,” said Ledwaba.
The alerted relative went and picked up the deceased man’s body.
“When they arrived at home, they informed the undertaker about the deceased, and the body was collected from home. The undertaker, after discovering that the deceased had multiple injuries, notified the police,” said Ledwaba.
The police have opened cases of inquest, defeating the ends of justice and illegal hunting.
The five arrested men are set to appear before the Masisi Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, facing charges of illegal hunting and defeating the ends of justice.
Buffalo are known as ‘widow-makers’ for their aggressive and unpredictable nature, killing 200 people in Africa each year.
In September, IOL reported that members of the police’s Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit in Limpopo launched a manhunt for people involved in a rhino poaching incident in Tshilwavhusiku, under Vhembe district.
At the time, Ledwaba said the investigation started when an employee discovered that only one rhino had appeared for feeding. The curious employee then started probing the whereabouts of the other rhino.
IOL