A 43-year-old man suspected to be a poacher was shot and killed on Saturday in an alleged exchange of gunfire on a private game farm situated in the Otavi district.

Namibian Police Force head of community affairs in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha in an interview with Nampa on Monday said the deceased was identified by relatives as Saul Gariseb.

“His body was discovered Sunday morning on the farm by the farm owner and his worker who were allegedly involved in the gunfire exchange,” Mbeha said.

It is alleged that the farm owner and his employee were patrolling the farm on Saturday at 18h00 when they came across three pairs of suspicious shoe prints.

“They followed the shoe prints for a distance, and around 19h00 they allegedly spotted a man fleeing from them and entering a thick bush,” she said.

The fleeing man allegedly opened gunfire on them as soon as he entered the bush, said Mbeha.

The farmer who was also armed with a gun shot twice, while the suspected poacher kept on firing at them, said Mbeha.

“The exchange of fire continued until it was dark on Saturday, and this forced the farm owner and employee to return to the farm house,” she said.

On Sunday morning at about 08h00, the two men went back to the scene and came across the lifeless body of a man who had sustained serious head injuries, she said.

Snare wires were also allegedly found on the deceased’s body.

Two other alleged accomplices of the deceased who were with him during the shooting, were traced by the police and their statements obtained, added Mbeha.

A case of murder was opened against the 47-year-old farm owner, and he was subsequently arrested.

His firearm suspected to have been used in the shooting was seized along with the four empty cartridges from his gun which were found on the scene.

The farmer is expected to appear in the Otavi Magistrate’s Court this week on a murder charge, while police investigations continue.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency