With all the hoo-hah around rhino poaching, maybe someone from the SA government could tell the world just why the South African Police Unit, The Endangered Species Unit was shut down. Just another example of sub-mediocre governance with little or no consideration for cause and effect.

quote by Shikari--------------------------------
SCI is a CORPORATION. Its members have absolutely no say whatsover. New office beareres can only come on board at the initiative of existing directors, with ordinary members having absolutely no say in that either.

In the end, the "upper echelon" is a power unto itself, and the members merely pawns. It is not by any definition an ASSOCIATION of like minded members. You can read their by-laws in this regard here: http://www.scifirstforhunters....gust%2027%202010.pdf

Hope that helps.
-------------------------------------------------
SHAKARI, SCI is a very complicated organization with several different operations. The organization SCI is ran by the Board Of Directors..IE the presidents of the chapters.Those chapter presidents are voted in by the members of their respective chapters...IE the general membership. All major decisions and every officer in SCI are voted on by the BOD at the tri annual meetings. So in fact the general membership has the say in SCI, via democracy.
What needs to happen is the members of the chapters need to hold the presidents of their chapters responsible for how they vote in there name at these meeting, and change the way these slobs are running our club.
If you don't like whats happening in SCI join a chapter , become active and make a difference. The majority of SCI chapters are regular hunters working hard for a noble fight.
Join in and change this fall from what SCI should be about.

Best regards...Anthony

The last time I looked [when I was still a member] us fellahs in Africa had no voting rights as members of SCI.

Max,

It's not a very complicate organisation. It's a very complicated corporation with all the usual rules of a corporation plus a few more complications that are not so usual...... but it is a corporation and not an organisation.

All you got to do is look it up on their own website.

Steve
By your definition, SCI is a corporate organised to appear as an organisation.However according to Maxart, the structure is actually that of a organisation without corporate governance that perhaps is more organised than a corporation.
Personally I thought it was a club....

quote:

Originally posted by zimFrosty:
Steve
By your definition, SCI is a corporate organised to appear as an organisation.However according to Maxart, the structure is actually that of a organisation without corporate governance that perhaps is more organised than a corporation.
Personally I thought it was a club....

SCI is neither and orgenization nor a corporation.

It is Tin Pot Dictatorship

How else would you call it when the higher ups are screwing it all up for the normal members?

It's the fact that it's a corporation that allows it to remain a Tin Pot Dictatorship because the ordinary membership have no say in the corporate decisions.

Kinda reminds me of the TV series 'Yes Prime Minister' where they're talking about the TPLAC. (Tin Pot Little African Country)

I see the Brit press are reporting the case of an antique dealer there has just got a year in chokey for trying to smuggle 2 horns to China.

I wonder if the SA authorities will use that sentence as an example and work these sentences on a pro rata basis.

Rhinos: More 'Groenewald gang' arrests
2010-10-07 21:50



Johannesburg - Two more people allegedly linked to a rhino poaching syndicate were arrested and 20 rhino carcasses were recovered from the Groenewald game farm in Musina on Thursday, the Hawks said.

"The two were arrested from (sic) the farm and they brought the number of the so called Groenewald gang to 13.


"We also recovered 20 carcasses buried in the farm," said Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi.

Zondi said the two had appeared before the Musina Magistrate's Court.


They were professional hunter Gys du Preez, 31, and Joseph Maluleka, 39, a farm worker.


Eleven people, including two veterinarians, a pilot and a game farmer, all allegedly part of the same syndicate, appeared in the Musina Magistrate's Court last week.

The accused were alleged to be part of a syndicate which operated around Polokwane, Modimolle and Musina, and had been involved in rhino poaching and killing, the selling of the horns and disposing of the carcasses.


They were granted bail, ranging from R20 000 to R1m. Game farmer Dawie Groenewald was released on R1m bail and his wife Sariette on R100 000 bail.

Veterinarian Karel Toet was released on R50 000 bail, his wife Mariza on R20 000, and his colleague, veterinarian Manie du Plessis, also on R20 000.

The other accused, professional hunter Tielman Roos Erasmus, Dewald Gouws, Nardus Rossouw, Leon van der Merwe, and Jacobus Martinus Pronk, were released on R20 000 bail each, and Paul Matomela on R5 000.

The case was postponed to April 11 2011.

More than 200 rhinos had been killed for their horns since the beginning of this year - up from a total of 122 poached last year.


- SAPA

I hope the SAPS and Hawks special ops team seized the computers and file cabinets. It would be interesting to see their client list.

What a can of worms would be opened, if USFWS were given copies of all of this data, and a good analyst started putting together a case against their protectors and allies here in the States.

Also, it would be valuable in a civil case against the perpetrator's assets to support claims by the clients who were systematically extorted and ripped off, while complaints in the SCI ethics committee were never pursued.

Why would the officers, executive committee, and ethics committee allow their members to be pillaged and swindled for almost 10 years?

What is the secret they are trying so desperately to protect?

Somebody knows, and sooner or later they are going to spill the beans. Perhaps they already have.

Cheers,

~ Alan

I hope they seized the heli. It would be a great tool against poachers.

Rich
DRSS

what say we discuss the odds of Dawie Groenewald not making it to his trial.
Car accident, burglary gone wrong, or just plain old hit squad........personally I feel he knows far too many influential people that will simply not be prepared to let him expose them...
Maybe I have lived in Zim too long....but Africa works in predictable ways
what odds???????

I'm concerned about him not getting to trial because of the influential thieves he had dealt with and could implicate, but I don't think they'll smoke him. I'm just worried about someone paying someone else etc and Dawie disappearing to start afresh somewhere else as someone else. If he didn't make it to trial because someone did blip him on the head, I wouldn't lose too much sleep.

+10 Dave

Like Dave, I wouldn't be surprised if he (and possibly a few others) did a bunk and I'm actually surprised they gave any of them bail at all....

If ZIM works like Kenya he will have a most unfortunate accident and all his highly place accomplice's will morn his passing. and there will be NO investigation of the accident.

I hope not...
I want to see him and the gang of eleven all stand trial. They have to be convicted and hang so that others understand not to get too greedy. His only hope is to squeal like the fat guy in Deliverance.

Rich

Anyone recoginise any of these names?

http://www.outofafricasafari.c...teable-mentions.html

http://www.outofafricasafari.com/safari-rates.html

The phone numbers are available for calling as references!

I am sure some of the clients would be genuine people just unknowingly caught up in this scam!

quote:

Anyone recoginise any of these names?

Mike Babcock. Coach of the Detroit Redwings

I hear they are all just innocent victims...

Rich
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I hear they are all just innocent victims...

Rich
DRSS

Most probably are.

Not those associated with SCI though! Especially Kevin Anderson.

Somehow 'victim' doesn't seem to describe the people an international poaching gang would put up on their website for references.

If it were me, I would put up people that I knew would give me a good 'reference'. Ain't that why they are called references???

What better reference can you get than someone who is an SCI bigwig?

Cheers,

~ Alan

Alan,

I'm surprised no-one has taken the site down or at least removed things like those names and contact details.

Did anyone else notice that some of the notable mention 'well known personalities' seem to have been removed from that page I posted the link to over the last 24 hours?

Big Brother or one of his relatives appears to be watching.

yep, that list is shrinking by the hour...

Rich
it's called evidence

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:

it's called evidence

Might possibly be just a tad late for that don't you think?

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Alan,

I'm surprised no-one has taken the site down or at least removed things like those names and contact details.

Steve,

I was thinking the same thing myself. This is just one of the reasons I don't think Dawie is capable of being the mastermind of this criminal operation, and is rather a 'soldier' in the syndicate instead of a 'capo'. He is just not that smart. Just coming off a felony bust in the States, you would think he would have been laying low, instead of flying around in a helicopter shooting his neighbor's rhinos! Talk about running a high profile!

Now, we hear he was also buying rhinos from Kruger Park and secretly killing them. The investigators have already recovered 21 buried corpses so far, and DNA or other tests will probably prove they are the Kruger rhinos. If nothing else, there are records showing how many rhinos he and Dr Karel Toet bought from Kruger, and court records state there are only 32 left alive.

You would also think his masters and advisers would have already thought of taking down the website. This whole affair had become so odious, anyone whose name becomes associated with Out of Africa is tainted, whether they are guilty of anything or not.

Cheers,

~ Alan

Alan

Whoever removed those SCI bods from the OoA website didn't do a very good job..... they're still on other pages of the site.

I wonder how long it'll be before they do the job properly!

Since they were glad to be references for Out of Africa, they should not mind if we preserve their friendship here for all to see.


John Pouleson Illinois 630 968 0968

Joe Meder Iowa 319 644 2261

Kevin Anderson Missouri 816 380 3366

Kenny Wright Penn. 412 977 8004

Brian Mortz Michigan 810 923 9414

Juan Carlos Rufo Spain +34 651472814

Jose Maria Gorgas Spain +34 651869685

Ramiro Diaz Spain +34 600589931

Angel Santiago Spain +34 629865555

Carlos Spain +34 607736706

Guillermo Taboada Spain +34 639333077

Steve Ward California 916 425 0932

Rob Dunham Canada 780 871 1056

Luther Jones Alabama 334 365 2023

Fred Gutwein Indiana 574 250 4810

Scott Huebner Wisconsin 920 731 1599

Abe Glick Pennsylvania 570 274 0637

Hristo Stoichkov Bulgaria +359 8855 88888

Mike Babcock Detroit 248 719 1100

I wonder how many of those names are members of SCI and more particularly, members of the upper echelons of SCI?

Thank you Alan.

You as well Steve.

Rich
DRSS

https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria...35-838e-d609ddf612b2



Judge demands answers over rhino poaching case delays

By Zelda Venter Time of article published 9h ago


Pretoria - More than a decade ago, Limpopo game farmer Dawie Groenewald and his co-accused were arrested on a multitude of rhino poaching-related charges, yet their criminal trial is yet to start - and a judge wants answers.

Groenewald and his eight co-accused once again briefly appeared in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria this week, and their case was postponed to March 1.


But this is only to pave the way forward, and it is expected that the trial will not go ahead on this date.

Judge Bert Bam made it clear this week that he wanted answers as to why the trial had been delayed for so long, “This case has been dragging its heels for very long. I want to know what the delays are and what is going to be done to streamline the process,” the judge said.

He demanded a detailed affidavit from the defence team, setting out what caused the delays. “I want a detailed account of what happened. I have no idea what is going on and it is very peculiar that this case is not moving forward. If I find that anyone has delayed this matter on purpose, I will consider making an appropriate order in that regard,” Judge Bam said.



Groenewald, alleged to be the rhino horn syndicate kingpin, and his co-accused, who include a helicopter pilot, two veterinarians and professional hunters, have appeared in court on several occasions over the years, during which their trial was postponed.

One of the delays was caused as the group were awaiting a Constitutional Court ruling confirming the lifting of South Africa’s moratorium on domestic trade in rhino horn.

This resulted in the state dropping about 60 charges against the accused, and an amended charge sheet was subsequently served on the group earlier.


They are, however, still facing about 1 600 charges, ranging from racketeering, money laundering, illegal hunting of rhino to dealing in rhino horn.

One of the new glitches at the start of the hearing was the fact that advocate Piet van Wyk SC, who had been representing them over the years, passed away last year due to Covid-19. A new legal team took over the defence, headed by advocate Jaap Cilliers SC and his team.

Prosecutor Joanie Spies meanwhile told the court that the prosecution was definitely not to blame for the delay in the case.



The hearing was postponed in 2018 to this week, after it emerged that the first trial date would be in 2021, due to the complexity of the case and the length of time the trial was expected to last.

The prosecution at the time said it had been ready for more than a year to call its witnesses.

The defence on a previous occasion estimated that the criminal trial could last between six months to a year once it had started.

All the accused are out on bail.

The group, said to be one the largest rhino syndicates in the country, were arrested in September 2010 after a 15-month investigation called “Project Cruiser”. They were allegedly linked to hundreds of illegal rhino-poaching operations over four years.

In 2013, 26 rhino carcasses, with their horns removed, were found buried on Groenewald’s farm in Musina.

THE JUDGE wants to know why the case has not moved forward in A DECADE??

Uhhhh... Set a trial date & move it forward, Your Honor.

Another interesting case on the docket. Dawie's close friend and associate... Hugo Ras.

State v Ras and 9 others (Pretoria High Court) Trial date: 30 Jan to 3 March 2023

Hopefully, this new judge will be better than the old one. They have a saying in SA, "Why hire a lawyer when you can buy a judge". Sounds like the new guy on the case can't be bought. I hope he has plenty of protection in case of an "accident".

Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries report back on rhino poaching in South Africa in 2019

They will never get convicted.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
They will never get convicted.

I wouldn't bet against you, Saeed. The best way to win a horse race is to own every horse in the race.

Only in Africa could a legal case drag on for 11-12 years and STILL not go to court...

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
Only in Africa could a legal case drag on for 11-12 years and STILL not go to court...

Oh I think that is unfair !

I believe possible in Eastern Europe - Asia & South America ?

Nope. Africa sets the bar way too high. Anywhere else they would just pay a bribe and drop the charges. Legal systems in Africa have learned to drag things out forever to maximize the bribery.