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- A Mozambican man drowned while working at the Kruger National Park.
- His body has been repatriated.
- Police say they do not suspect any foul play, but are investigating the incident.
The body of a Mozambican man has been returned to his family after he drowned in a pool while working for a contractor at the Kruger National Park this week.
Aldimiro Ismail Cossa, 26, drowned in the Skukuza staff village on Tuesday evening.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said a post-mortem examination was conducted on Thursday.
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"According to the report, Cossa, who was working for a contractor in the park, allegedly went to the pool to swim. The information at police's disposal is that Cossa jumped [into] the deep side of the pool and subsequently drowned."
"Security personnel were summoned to the scene, where the lifeless body of Cossa was retrieved about 20 minutes later. He was certified dead by a medical practitioner on the scene," said Mohlala.
He added that no foul play was suspected, but that police are were still investigating the incident.
Hefty sentence for poaching
Meanwhile, in an unrelated Kruger National Park case, the Skukuza Regional Court sentenced Sydney Sibuyi, 40, to 30 years' imprisonment on Thursday for poaching-related offences.
Sibuyi pleaded guilty and was convicted of trespassing and killing three rhinos, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said.
She said that in July 2020, rangers received a tip-off of three suspected poachers.
They found Sibuyi with five fresh rhino horns. He was wearing a blood-stained T-shirt and three rhino carcasses were found in the vicinity.
"In aggravation of sentence, prosecutor Lot Mgiba presented DNA results which confirmed that the blood stains found on the accused's T-shirt matched the carcass on the crime scene. Sibuyi was sentenced to 30 years' direct imprisonment. The court further declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm," Nyuswa said.
