- Up to 20 alleged poachers shot at people on a houseboat on the eastern shore of the Jozini Dam on Wednesday morning.
- About 20 elephants have been killed in the area recently.
- A case of attempted murder has been opened by Pongola police.
A boat cruise on the eastern shores of the Jozini Dam in KwaZulu-Natal turned into a nightmare for guests as they were shot at by alleged poachers on Wednesday morning.
The guests were cruising in a houseboat on the dam when the alleged poachers, reported to have been hunting elephants in the area, opened fire.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said: "Police in Pongola are investigating cases of attempted murder following an incident in which a group of people were allegedly shot at on 11 January 2023 at Jozini Dam.
"Reports indicate that a group of people, including tourists, were on a wildlife sightseeing [tour] on a boat when unknown suspects started shooting at the animals," he added.
"It is also reported that after realising that they were being watched, the suspects allegedly shot randomly at the people on the boat. No one was reported injured and police investigations continue," said Netshiunda.
Pongola Game Reserve Wildlife monitor Suzette Boshoff, who was on the boat at the time of the attack, said it was by sheer luck they were able to escape the heavily armed men who shot at them.
"Around 10:30 I noted two men approaching the boat. However, the boat we were on was a double decker with three guests on the top who saw more than what we saw at the bottom. They saw at least 20 men in the bush, heavily armed and pointing guns at the boat," said Boshoff.
"Two shots were fired on the boat, and whilst we were moving away two more shots were fired."
The group, consisting of Boshoff, the skipper, seven international guests from Germany and America as well as two local guests, narrowly escaped the shots by ducking inside the boat, avoiding any ricocheting bullets.
According to Boshoff, at around 17:00, the poachers went back and shot more elephants in that specific area. Boshoff said there was a lack of police visibility in the area and a crime scene had yet to be declared.
Boshoff said poachers in the area had become so arrogant that they even called local communities to collect elephant meat after their kill.
Little was known about how many elephants were killed in Wednesday's attack as conservationists could not go to the scene without protection agencies.
According to Boshoff, a total of 20 elephants had been lost in the area recently with one being killed in front of guests on 1 January.
"Getting police and Hawks in the area to be visible is taking time which we don’t have as each moment counts. We need more boots on the ground with guns. The poachers also know how to get rid of the carcass quickly so we need to react within the 24-hour window, which is crucial for wildlife investigation," Boshoff lamented.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo said there was little information available about the incident at the time of speaking to News24.
"I currently don’t have full information but what I know is that a group of nine people were seen hunting for elephants in that area. The information we have right now is that the shooting that took place was aimed at the elephants and not at the tourists," said Mntambo.
"The tourists might have been in the vicinity and witnessed the shooting,"' he added.