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Tawanda Kakora of Nyamaropa Village in Mt Darwin will spend the next nine years in jail afer he was arrested while trying to sell a live pangolin. Kakora (34) of Nyamaradzo Village under Chief Nembire was sentenced to a mandatory nine-year jail term afer being convicted on charges of possession or selling a live pangolin. In passing sentence, Bindura magistrate Mrs Nomgugu Sibanda said there were no special circumstances warranting the court to be lenient. The prosecutor, Mr Carson Kundiona proved that on September 30, detectives from…

The courts have intensified the fight to combat breaches of wildlife laws with the Harare Magistrates Court dedicating Court 5 to deal with such issues, acting Deputy Prosecutor General Mr Michael Reza said yesterday. He told the Zimbabwe Animal Law conference in Harare yesterday that since the beginning of the year, nine cases have been completed while 12 new cases have been recorded. From January 2020 to date, 45 cases involving breaches of the parks and wildlife law have been prosecuted at the Harare Magistrates Court, and Mr …

Six suspected poachers have been arrested in separate incidents in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls with the police recovering four ivory tusks and 10,5kg of kudu meat. The arrest comes afer the police declared war on poaching syndicates countrywide. In a statement, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests.

Two suspected poachers believed to be part of a syndicate involved in wildlife crimes have been arrested in Chiredzi and police recovered pangolin scales, lion teeth and hyena teeth.

Two suspected poachers who were selling four ivory tusks have appeared in court.

Faced with an increase in cross-border wildlife offences over the past five years, Rwanda has adopted a technical toolkit to assist authorities in the judicial system to handle wildlife and other environmental crimes. Launched in early December 2022, the Rwanda Rapid Reference Guide on Wildlife and Environmental Crimes and Related Administrative Faults will help address the challenges of lack of evidence in prosecuting wildlife crimes, especially those committed in border communities.

A South African immigrant Brent Johan Lunt was yesterday acquitted on charges involving possession of
four rhino horns worth US$240 000 without a licence after the High Court found merit in his application for
review of the trial court proceedings that put him on his defence even though the horns had not been proved

The 2022 poaching statistics show a loss of 210 rhino on state properties and 49 in privately owned parks. As indicated, hardest hit during this period is KwaZulu-Natal which recorded a loss of 133 rhino. This is more than triple the 33 rhino killed in the first six months of 2021.

In Victoria Falls, police have arrested Listed Munkuli (35), Kudakwashe Ndlovu (31), Darlington Moyo (35) and Simon Nyoni (45) for unlawful possession of ivory at Mhizha Turn-off in the Matsetsi area. Two elephant tasks totalling 4,28kg, 15 lion claws and four lion teeth were recovered from the suspects. In another case, police and Zimbabwe National Parks Management Authority rangers, acting on a tip-off, arrested Evidence Moyo (22) for poaching. The suspect trapped and killed a male buffalo in the bush near the Victoria Falls dump site.

Two men from Zvishavane and their friend from Goromonzi appeared in court yesterday on allegations of illegally possessing four pieces of raw Ivory worth US$6 426 they intended to trade in Harare.

Authorities in Mozambique have arrested "Navara", aka Simon Ernesto Valoi, and an associate in connection with allegedly attempting to sell rhino horns in the country’s capital, Maputo. For many years Navara has had the reputation of being one of the most notorious rhino poaching syndicate leaders in Mozambique. He was arrested with an associate, Paulo Zukula, on July 26 2022 in possession of eight rhino horns.

A special court established in Uganda, called the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court, was "critical to the country's economic development", then Chief Justice Bart Katureebe noted at its launch in 2017. "Access to justice in this area has the capacity to promote investment in critical areas of the economy, protection of the environment, public health and ethical trade practices," he said. Between July 2020 and June 2021, the court handled 468 wildlife crime cases.

Intelligence operations in South Africa over the past five years have retrieved 160 live pangolins from the illegal trade, according to data from the African Pangolin Working Group. The group is mandated by the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment to oversee matters relating to illegal pangolin trade. Its role includes assisting in law enforcement operations, contributing expert evidence in court cases, rehabilitating pangolins retrieved from the illegal trade and releasing them in appropriate wild areas.

Giraffes, the national animals of Tanzania, have recently become targeted by bushmeat traders and are now under increased threat in the northern parts of country. Recent investigations on wildlife crime in East Africa have indicated that the tall giants are being hunted for bushmeat and animal fat. The bone marrow is also wrongfully believed to have medical value, further driving up the demand.

Data on pangolin seizures and court cases in Southern Africa provide insights into the smuggling of pangolins destined for Asia, mostly China, via air, sea, land and mail. Analysis of published data on the illegal pangolin trade indicates Namibia has the highest number of pangolin seizures in 42 jurisdictions across Africa, while the highest number of related court cases in Southern Africa has been recorded in Malawi, and Zambia is among the top five countries on the continent to record seizures at airports.

Offenders convicted of crimes related to wildlife species classified as extinct in the wild, or critically endangered, face the highest penalty under Uganda's Wildlife Act 2019 of a Shs20-billion (about US$5,5-million) fine or life imprisonment, or both. Despite this, pangolins are being heavily targeted for poaching and trafficking in the East African country. Data from global wildlife trade monitoring organisation Traffic indicates that between 2012 and 2016, more than 1,400 pangolins were seized by Ugandan authorities.

As poaching takes its toll on the population of Kenya's Grevy's zebras, a prolonged drought has now been added to the list of threats against this endangered species.

Another man has been arrested for illegal ivory dealing, being found trying to sell 21 pieces of ivory from his house in Gutu.

A 59-year-old Masvingo farmer yesterday appeared in court after he was found in possession of 52 crocodile skins worth US$78 000, without a licence.

A suspected poacher was shot and killed at Malilangwe Conservancy Trust in Chiredzi during a gunfight with game scouts on Saturday and while his two accomplices escaped the scouts did recover a rifle and ammunition.

There is an urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts in the country, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu says.

Poaching syndicates have killed at least two rhinoceros this month and are suspected of moving around the country targeting the animals and cutting off their horns. The rhino is targeted for its horn in the underground, illegal wildlife markets, particularly in Asia, where dubious cultural beliefs drive demand. In the latest killing, police in Bikita discovered on Sunday a carcass of a white rhino buried in a pit in a bushy area with some body parts missing

There has been a great improvement in the handling of wildlife crimes in the country's courts of law following an accelerated mentorship drive for prosecutors and magistrates on the subject, a wildlife rights proponent has said.

A nurse aide at Siyakobvu Hospital in Kariba was today fined $20 000 for possessing a leopard skin worth $2 308 400, which he was selling in Harare's Central Business District.

A South African immigrant and a local man found in possession of four pieces of rhino horns worth US$240 000 without a licence have been acquitted after the High Court found that the prosecution failed to prove its case against them.

A nurse aide at Siyakobvu Hospital in Kariba appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court on allegations of possessing a leopard skin worth $2 308 400, which he was selling in Harare's Central Business District.

Three youths had a running battle with three policemen who attempted to arrest them for poaching, Bulawayo Regional Court was told yesterday.

Police in Chiredzi have arrested four suspected poachers and recovered five impala carcasses worth over
US$5 000 as they intensify their crackdown on poachers countrywide.

Police in Mashonaland East Province have arrested three suspects for poaching in Eldorado farm in Macheke.

Wildlife crime in Southern Africa has become easier to track and harder to hide, after the launch of Africa's first geomapping tool designed to follow court cases and convictions in the region.

Two men appeared in court today on allegations of illegally possessing elephant tusks worth US$2 497 they intended to trade in Harare's city centre. Nkululeko Chuma (40) and Tawenga Dandambira (40) appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Tafadzwa Miti charged with unlawful possession of unmarked raw ivory.

A long-serving nature conservation official and a former policeman have been charged in connection with illegally transporting 17 rhino horns from the Northern Cape to North West province in contravention of permit conditions.

Two men have been arrested in Bulawayo after they were found in possession of 18,25kg of ivory worth thousands of dollars.

A well-known rhino pair were poached at the Bothongo Rhino and Lion Nature reserve early Wednesday morning. A rhino cow and her calf needlessly lost their lives when they were poached in the Bothongo Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve in the Cradle of Humankind in the early hours of Wednesday, September 15.

Data on wildlife crime in Southern Africa isn't easy to obtain, despite legislation in several countries guaranteeing access to information that is in the public interest.

New Oxpeckers professional support programme boosts wildlife crime reporting in Southern Africa with data-driven tools and journalist training.

Four men were each jailed for nine years after they were convicted of illegally possessing raw ivory which they intended to trade in Harare sometime last year.

Two Mbire men have appeared at the Guruve Magistrates Court after being arrested in possession of 34kg of ivory and looking for a buyer.

A 35-year-old Zimbabwean and a Chinese man (28) who were recently arrested by South Africa's organised crime unit, the Hawks for illegal possession of dried Abalone worth nearly R10 million are set to make a formal bail application tomorrow at the Atlantis Magistrates' Court, in Western Cape province . Lawrence Muroma and Qing Quan Feng were found in possession of 70 boxes dried abalone on May 16.

Two Harare man have appeared in court after they were caught in possession of 22,88 kilogrammes of ivory worth $326 726 without a licence.

Two men recently received a seven-year prison sentence each after they were found guilty on charges of trying to sell an injured pangolin.

For years environmentalists have warned that the biggest threat to the future of rhino populations is the indiscriminate killing of these animals in South Africa's Kruger National Park by organised syndicates infiltrating from neighbouring Mozambique.

A clerk at St George's College in Harare appeared in court after he was arrested in the capital’s suburb of Budiriro, while attempting to trade raw ivory worth US$2 099.

Namibia's over-burdened criminal justice system is struggling to keep up with rhino-poaching court cases, some of them delayed by up to six years. Is a special wildlife crime court the answer? 

Too low, too slow: SA's rhino convictions.

Zimbabwe needs to establish an independent and specialised environmental court to effectively deal with the environmental litigation cases and offer better quality of sentencing to safeguard and restore the country's environment, WWF - Zimbabwe country director, Dr Enos Shumba says.