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In response to valid concerns that increasing the demand for rhino horn by wealthy consumers in Asia (which far exceeds any possible supply from dehorning live rhinos), particularly over the last decade, has led to the killing of rhino and the decimation of many African rhino populations, the international trade in rhino horn is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Unquestionably, the devastating loss of thousands of rhinos in South Africa particularly over the past two decades is not only due to the illegal killing of rhinos.

The High Court of Kibera (Nairobi) on April 8th, 2025, dismissed the appeal of Lawrence Kinoti who, the previous November, had been sentenced to life imprisonment with a second prison warder, Paul Muranu Mwangi. Judge Diana Kavedza-Mochache found “the appeal to be lacking in merit and is dismissed in its entirety”. Kinoti and Mwangi had been arrested at the Rio Hotel in Nairobi West on August 11th, 2015 after KWS investigators had received intelligence that the two and one other were selling ivory. A third prison warder, Kipkoech Cheruiyot escaped but was arrested a few days…

A middle aged woman will serve a 12 years jail term after a Kabarnet court found her guilty of trading in wildlife trophies. Esther Chebii, appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate (SRM) Edwin Mulochi for the offence which occurred on May 27, 2023 at around 6pm at Kabarnet town in Baringo central sub-county, where she was nabbed with five pieces of elephant tusks weighing 15.7 kilograms and 105 pieces of pangolin scales weighing two kilograms with a street value of Sh 2.37 million.

Six years ago, on the 21st August 2018, Michele Pickover, Executive Director of the EMS Foundation and Dr Smaragda Louw, Director of Ban Animal Trading, jointly presented their findings of an eighteen month investigation and research project about South Africa’s role in the international lion bone trade at a Colloquium held in the Parliament of South Africa.

There was barely a dry eye in the Kwale courtroom last Monday afternoon, June 10th, 2024, when Augustine Odwori Malingo and Nancy Akoth Owino were sentenced by Principal Magistrate Lillian Lewa. They had been found guilty of possession of wildlife trophies that included 4 ivory tusk pieces weighing 500 grammes and 1 hippo tooth weighing a similar amount from their 2019 arrest.

There was no judgement for the third time. Since the last sitting of this matter, the presiding magistrate, Senior Principal Magistrate Joe Mkutu Omido has successfully attained the appointment as a Judge of the High Court. This matter is now "on notice", meaning that involved and interested parties will be notified when the judgement will be given. As a point of interest, the three magistrates that have handled this case have all been promoted to the High Court.

KWS investigates the bulk of wildlife crime generally but it does happen that the National Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal also become involved in the same. The DCI, in fact, becomes the lead agency in the more serious wildlife investigations such as large, transnational, ivory seizures. A 2018-2019 courtroom monitoring report by Wildlife Direct indicated that of data analyzed, 31% of arrests under the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act were made by the NPS.

The convicted clearing agents, according to the prosecutors, David Ereh and Mike Osong, was arrested on January, 2021, at Apapa Port, Lagos, for being in possession of 1X20ft Container marked CSLU 2362640, containing 158 sacks of pangolin scales and 57 sacks of elephant ivory, horns and bones.