She is meticulous, determined, and the Eastern Cape’s most experienced legal journalist.
And slightly built, especially compared to the towering bull of a man, a soldier in the battle against environmental criminals carrying big guns.
So how did leading Daily Dispatch journalist Adrienne Carlisle, who handled the court case part of the book, work alongside her co-author, Div de Villiers?
Q: As a court reporter covering the trial, how did you rate the investigation?
Carlisle: It actually blew my mind that this country has so many forensic, ballistic and digital-techno expertise hidden away in some dusty SAPS backrooms. And they shone on the witness stand.
Q: Was there an element to the prosecution strategy which inspired hope for a progressive legal precedent in applying our far-reaching environmental laws?
Carlisle: The prosecution was meticulous in applying the myriad environmental laws covering every aspect of the crime from the actual killing of the rhino without a permit to the harvesting and trade in horns.
The accused were found guilty of some 50 charges each [not all related to environmental breaches].
Q: Did the judgment inspire hope for resistance or holding the line against a seemingly overwhelming campaign by syndicates to commit major environmental crime?
Carlisle: The judgment was so carefully reasoned and thorough in its application of the law that it survived every appeal all the way to the Constitutional Court.
It provided an important ‘recipe’ for successful investigation and prosecution. There have now been several subsequent rhino poaching criminal trials that were similarly successfully prosecuted.
Q: You had to work alongside a towering, rumbling alpha male, De Villiers. How did that work out? Were there energising clashes in style and perspective or did you find a surprising synchronicity?
Carlisle: I’m not easy to work with either. But I hate confrontation so we worked well together — he better say so too! Our styles are very different. It worried me a bit.
But I quite liked it. I hope others do too. The book is an important record of this vital trial and Div provides the powerful context of what we are up against.
Div drove this project like a demon. There were weekends when I’d rather have kicked back, ridden my horse or planted more trees. Alas, the Div deadline awaited so I worked instead.
Q: How did you view the public reaction to information set out in your journalism/reportage on the case, what did it say to you about public sentiment on the onslaught against nature by organised and connected criminals?
Carlisle: The descriptions and photos of the terrible cruelty entailed was deeply upsetting, especially where pregnant rhinos or rhinos with calves were slaughtered for their horns.
People that attended the trial were clearly angry about the crimes and hungry to see justice done ... and showed it. The three Ndlovu men were caught with the bloody horn of a recently poached rhino, so their guilt in the public eye was not in doubt and you could feel the anger radiating from the public gallery.
Senior state advocate Buks Coetzee, however, had to prove that guilt, not just of that one case but several. He did so by tying together a seemingly impossible web of really technical evidence.
We are all now watching the Madlanga commission and wondering if there are any decent police out there. This, and subsequent trials, proved we have pockets of excellence and dedication.
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.