News24 | UPDATE | Conservationist John Hume among six facing charges of rhino horn trafficking

John Hume, 83, (far left) and his co-accused in court on Tuesday.

• Six people appeared in court for the alleged transnational trafficking of 964 rhino horns.
• They are accused of fraudulently obtaining domestic trade permits and funnelling rhino horns into illegal international markets.
• Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Dion George said the arrests were critical in protecting biodiversity.

Conservationist John Hume was among six people who appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, accused of the transnational trafficking of 964 rhino horns, following a successful investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), which began in 2017.

Hume, 83, whom the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) identified as one of the accused, is the founder and former owner of the Platinum Rhino Conservation Enterprise.

He once owned the largest population of white rhinos on his 7 800ha property.

NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana named the other accused as transport maintenance manager Clive Melville, 63, attorney Izak Hermanus du Toit, 50, director of a non-profit organisation, Elizabeth Catharina Van Niekerk, 58, insurance broker and part-time farmer Mattheus Poggenpoel, 37, and game reserve manager Johannes Abraham Hennop, 52.

All six were granted bail. Hume was granted R100 000 bail, Melville and Van Niekerk were each granted R10 000 bail, while Du Toit, Poggenpoel and Hennop were each granted R2 000 bail.

Mahanjana said the six were facing a collective total of 55 charges of multiple counts of racketeering, fraud, contravention of the National Environmental Management Act, contravention of the Riotous Assemblies Act, theft and money laundering.

They handed themselves over to the Pretoria Central police station on Tuesday morning after a seven-year investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s Wildlife Trafficking Section of the Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit.

They are accused of operating an international rhino horn trafficking syndicate and defrauding the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment between 2017 and 2024.

“They allegedly obtained permits to trade rhino horn locally, while intending to channel the horns into illegal international markets in Southeast Asia. The fraudulent scheme is estimated to involve 964 rhino horns valued at R250 million,” Mahanjana said.

During bail proceedings, Melville disclosed to the court that he had a previous conviction from 2019 for fraud and being in possession and transporting rhino horns, for which he was sentenced to pay a fine.

Poggenpoel also disclosed to the court that he had a previous conviction from 2009 for possession of a rhino horn for which he paid an admission of guilt fee of R2 500. He also has a pending case that will be back in court next month after the investigation team found ammunition that was not locked away in a safe and supposedly scheduled medicine without a permit at his home.

The matter was postponed to 9 December 2025 in Court 16 for further investigations.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said:

Minister Dion George said the arrests were “a decisive victory in South Africa’s fight against international wildlife crime”.

“Let there be no doubt: South Africa will bring the full force of its laws against those who plunder our wildlife. This arrest proves that syndicates cannot escape justice, no matter how complex their schemes.”

READ | Rhino horns now traceable via radioisotopes: A game-changer for wildlife protection

He added that the work to apprehend the six showed that the enforcement agencies would “not hesitate to pursue those who plunder our wildlife for criminal profit”.

“The illegal trade in rhino horn not only destroys biodiversity but also undermines the rule of law and the foundations of environmental governance,” George said.

African Parks took over Hume’s farm, Platinum Rhino, in the North West in 2023 when News24 reported that Hume was auctioning off the property after draining his fortune trying to conserve the endangered species.

At the time of reporting in September 2023, he had reportedly spent around $150 million on the farm and breeding rhino over 30 years. Hume had around 2 000 southern white rhinos at the time, which was 15% of the world’s remaining wild population.

Hume was a controversial figure in his work to unban “ethically sourced” horns. The theory is that flooding the market with horns, taken without injuring the rhino, would devalue the horn and, hopefully, stop the rampant poaching of the animal.

Speaking to News24 in 2024, Professor James Larkin said every 20 hours, a rhino is killed for its horn in South Africa.

When asked, Larkin did not want to give a monetary value for the horn so as not to promote poaching, but he said it was more valuable than gold, platinum, diamonds and cocaine and proceeds from sales were often used to fund criminal activity.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information from the NPA.