Two men from Mabvuku stood before the court on Tuesday, facing charges of stealing seven ostriches valued at US$7,000 from Haka Game Park in Msasa.
Wisdom Supayi and Francis Office were remanded in custody, with their bail application scheduled for today.
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The State alleges that on February 3 of this year, Supayi and Office, along with four accomplices who are still at large, scaled the perimeter fence of Haka Game Park to access the ostrich pen. It is claimed that they k!lled four ostriches using a log and transported the carcasses back to their home.
The situation escalated on February 7, 2025, when the duo returned to the park and k!lled two more ostriches.
According to the police, just two days later, they repeated their actions, entering the pen once again and murd3ring two additional birds. However, during this attempt, they were confronted by security guards who fired at them; one of the men was injured, but both managed to escape.
The incident was reported to the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Flora and Fauna Section. Investigations led to the arrest of Supayi after he was discovered with gunshot wounds on both legs. Upon searching his residence, authorities recovered ostrich feathers, which further implicated him.
During questioning, Supayi admitted that he had been shot at Haka Game Park while attempting to steal ostriches, and he subsequently implicated Office, resulting in his arrest.
