Zambian Courts Will Not Tolerate Wildlife Crime
Last month, a former wildlife police officer, Lovemore Nkhowani, 60, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for the illegal possession of elephant ivory weighing 10 kilograms.
The notorious elephant poacher, nicknamed ‘Mbanje’, was charged with one count of Unlawful Possession of a Prescribed Trophy which contravenes the Zambia Wildlife Act. Mr Nkhowani was arrested by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife on 26th May 2020 with the ivory which was suspected to have been illegally harvested from an elephant poached in the West Musalangu Game Management Area.
Our Zambian elephant population is thought to have reduced by 90% since the 1960s. During the 1980s thousands of elephants once roamed the country’s plains, but the poaching crisis of the 1980s drastically reduced those numbers by the end of the decade. Since then, the Zambian Government has strongly protected our elephants so that their value to the economy can be realised through sustainable livelihoods such as tourism. Their value to the environment should be maintained for a balanced eco-system.
Whilst sentencing, the court told the suspect that as someone who was once a wildlife police officer, under the Department, he should have known the importance of conserving wildlife. He was reminded that his duty was to protect wildlife and to educate his community on the importance of conservation, rather than to engage in poaching. The court also stated that it hoped the punishment handed to Mr Nkhowani would deter other officers from committing similar offences.
For more wildlife crime stories, visit the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s Facebook page here www.facebook.com/Department-of-National-Parks-Wildlife-420351424735202