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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
CONTROVERSIAL hunter, Theodore Albert Christian Bronkhorst, 52, yesterday appeared before a Beitbridge magistrate charged with conspiracy to smuggle wildlife and unlawful movement of 29 sables to South Africa through an illegal exit point along the Limpopo River. Bronkhorst is accused of conniving with three South African nationals, Edwin Hewitt, 49, Hedrick Blignaut, 41, and John Herbert Pretorius, 49, to smuggle the animals worth $435,000 into the neighbouring country.
He is also expected to appear in court in Hwange on Monday next week facing charges of organising an illegal hunt which ended the Life of the now famous lion, Cecil. The hunter denied the smuggling and unlawful movement of animals charges when he appeared before Innocent Bepura yesterday.
He applied for bail and the ruling has been set for today. Through his lawyer Advocate Perpetual Dube, Bronkhorst argued that the state had no evidence that he conspired with the three foreigners.
“It’s clear from the investigating officer’s testimony that the state has no case against my client and it also boggles the mind why the same charges which were withdrawn before plea in Bulawayo under CRB 2185/2015 are being brought to another court in Beitbridge” said Adv Dube.
For the state, Foster Abheki opposed bail arguing that Bronkhorst was fully involved in the conspiracy to smuggle the sables to South Africa. He said the hunter imported 50 sables from Zambia on July 13 and unlawfully moved 29 of them to Beitbridge to people whom he knew were foreigners and had no property in the said area to keep the animals.
According to the state, on July 13, Bronkhorst imported 50 sables from Zambia. He then bred them at Msuna ranch, trading as Bushman Safaris in Hwange. On September 9, the hunter is alleged to have connived with Hewitt, Pretorius and Blignaut to smuggle the animals into South Africa. The three South Africans have since been arrested and their trial has been set for October 7.
Abheki said the suspects agreed to smuggle the sables into South Africa through an illegal exit point on the Limpopo River. Bronkhorst allegedly obtained animal movement permit from the veterinary offices in Hwange after misrepresenting that the sables were being moved to West Nicholson.
The court further heard that on the strength of the permit, the three South Africans moved the animals to Beitbridge where they then hired one Thembani Sibanda of Makhakavhule village in Beitbridge to assist them to skip the border via the Limpopo River. They then went to an illegal crossing point near Nottingham Estate, but their convoy of three vehicles got stuck in the riverbed.
The South Africans were arrested by security personnel on patrol and revealed during interrogations that they had been assisted by Bronkhorst and Sibanda to smuggle the animals out of the country. Sibanda was arrested two days later while Bronkhorst was picked up on Sunday morning in Bulawayo.
derick.khumalo