Crooks Corner in Kruger National Park, as its name implies, has a long history of crime. The shocking murders there in late May of tourists Ernst and Dina Marais were the most recent evidence of this.
South African National Parks (SANParks) was quick to reassure tourists that Kruger is a safe destination. Spokesperson JP Louw says it was the first such incident in 100 years (the park was opened to tourists in 1927) and that safety is continuously being evaluated and amended where necessary.
Louw says Crooks Corner presents “unique challenges” because suspects can quickly cross into neighbouring countries. “The location makes it easy for a criminal to escape. However, as the recent incident has shown, security collaboration between the neighbouring countries is good, and the perpetrators were arrested quickly.”
Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba says visible policing has been intensified and tactical response teams and border guard units have been deployed. Police operations are intelligence-driven and co-ordinated with neighbouring countries, he says. The arrests of three suspects in early June — two in Mozambique and one in Zimbabwe — so soon after the murders appear to confirm this.
The remote northern corner of Kruger is part of the Pafuri wilderness area, where the three countries meet at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers. The area is a corridor for transnational crimes such as trafficking, poaching and armed robberies, says Mashaba. He says intelligence-led policing, along with operational co-ordination between the police and SANParks, includes joint committees, shared intelligence, co-ordinated response mechanisms, regular information-sharing and joint patrol planning as part of securing the park.
Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies, who specialises in transnational crime, calls the area a free-for-all for illegal migrants and criminal syndicates.
The murders have also drawn attention to the challenges of protecting a conservation area that stretches nearly 350km along the borders of Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
SANParks says securing Kruger cannot be separated from security in the surrounding region. Louw says security is a regional matter. “There are liaison structures between the Kruger National Park security staff and provincial security and policing structures and security staff in neighbouring reserves as well as with security counterparts in Mozambique.”
It basically became a free-for-all and a free crossing, not only for illegal migrants but also for criminal syndicates
— Willem Els
Els says the murders reveal the way organised criminal groups operate along international borders. “They come to South Africa, they perpetrate crime, they jump the fence, and they can actually get away from punishment. It’s a common feature of transnational organised crime around the world.”
He says border security has changed significantly over the years, creating opportunities for criminal syndicates to exploit weaknesses along the border. “It basically became a free-for-all and a free crossing, not only for illegal migrants but also for criminal syndicates that abuse that system.”
Rhino poaching remains one of the park’s most persistent security threats, says Els, but organised crime in the region is often connected. “Normally syndicates infiltrate, they attack, or they engage with state-embedded actors. Those are rangers, officials, and so on, and without them it would not be possible for these syndicates to effectively operate within Kruger.”
Louw says improvements are always being pursued in the deployment of adequate human capital, such as field rangers and patrols, as well as in the use of technology, various types of surveillance, intelligence-gathering, rapid-response capabilities and joint operations with the park’s partners. He declined to discuss the park’s surveillance and intelligence capabilities in detail.
SANParks says the murders have not had an impact on visitor confidence or bookings. Police say visitor routes and the main tourism areas remain under continuous surveillance but add that tourists should be vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
The police and SANParks say technology will play a greater role in improving security. SANParks is evaluating new technologies, while the police say expanding aerial surveillance, improving monitoring systems and strengthening regional co-operation remain priorities.
The Crooks Corner murders have renewed attention on security in and around Kruger. Authorities say the swift arrests demonstrate that regional co-operation is working, while security experts argue that cross-border organised crime will continue to test law enforcement.
For SANParks, protecting the country’s flagship national park increasingly depends not only on what happens inside its boundaries but also on the strength of co-operation beyond them.
