Naming the poachers:Kagasheki grows cold feet

BY QUEENTER MAWINDA

19th October 2013

Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Khamis Kagasheki briefs journalists yesterday in Dar es Salaam on ongoing operations against poaching of wild animals in the country. The operation is dubbed �Stop Poaching�. (Photo: Correspondent Atuza Nkurlu)

In a rare show of candour, Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Khamis Kagasheki pinpointed Arusha regional crime officer as belonging to a sophisticated network of rich wildlife poachers.

Though the minister didn’t specifically identify the RCO by his name, he was quite categorical talking about a public servant with the rank of RCO in Arusha.

When contacted for comment, the current RCO for Arusha, Mr. Buan Nyanda, said he wasn’t aware of the accusations, which he termed “false.”

 “The minister has never told me about this … in any case, I was not in Arusha at the time … I was in Dar es Salaam,” he said.

The minister told a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that in the ongoing operation which started last March, two Saudi nationals had since been arrested, both of them subsequently handed over to the RCO – who allegedly granted the suspects bail and handed back their travel comments.  

Under the law, suspected poachers cannot get bail, nor can they travel – particularly if they happen to be foreigners.

 Keeping the “name” deliberately under wraps, the minister was categorical that the RCO for Arusha region “helped” the two suspects gain their release from custody -- on bail.

He urged the media and the general public to “name and shame” those behind the slaughter and poaching of elephants and rhinos, but he didn’t have that courage to do so himself yesterday – turning the entire exercise a poor imitation of corporate PR (public relations).

However, he insisted that the two suspects were caught in possession of government trophies “red-handed” but that they were later released on “orders of the (unnamed) RCO.”

He noted that elephants and rhinos could soon become extinct if deliberate and concerted efforts were not taken by the stakeholders, citing the government, the media and the general public as key players.

He said he had expected government officials to take stern measures against poachers, but that the same government officials were “undermining” the natural resource management rules.

The minister said government officials gunning down the elephant for tusks had the support of wealthy international barons – who usually foot all the legal bills.
Even in water-tight cases, he said, court cases against poachers took unusually long, after which the culprits get acquitted.

“It isn’t surprising to see a poacher arrested one day … and then walks to freedom the next week … having been released by the courts after having paid a small fine …

“So where's the deterrent (penalty)?" He wondered aloud. The minister also raised concerns over recent incidents involving container-loads of ivory destined for the Far East -- through the port of Dar es Salaam – right in the presence of government officials entrusted with curbing the vice.

According to the latest figures released by the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Tanzania loses 30 elephants to poaching a day.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN