Rhino horn poacher sentenced to 55-years at the Skukuza Regional Court

Simon Nare

Rhino horn syndicates make promises of a good life and loads of cash to lure unemployed youths from the townships to join their criminal enterprises, according to a convicted poacher who on Thursday was handed a hefty 55-year sentence at the Skukuza Regional Court after being found guilty of 14 counts related to rhino poaching.

Domini Mnisi, 36, in an exclusive interview with Inside Travel minutes after being convicted said he was lured by syndicates who had promised him R20 000 for killing and dehorning each rhino.

For a young man who was unemployed and hardly had any cash, this sounded like a dream and Mnisi was easily sold. But this soon turned into a nightmare when he, according to court records, was caught red handed with a horn before he could deliver it to the syndicates to cash his loot.

Mnisi and three other co-accused were caught