Kenya: Notorious Laikipia Poacher Killed


A man described by the Kenya Wildlife Service as the mastermind of poaching in Laikipia has been shot dead.

The KWS officer in charge of the Mt Kenya Region Robert Njue described the death of John Gitonga as a breakthrough in dismantling cartels that have been targeting endangered rhinos in the past two months.

The suspect was shot dead on Wednesday night as he and his three accomplices attempted to enter Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in Laikipia Central district.

A G3 rifle and four bullets were recovered from him. His accomplices escaped with gunshot wounds. "We have assembled enough intelligence on poachers and we are monitoring their every move and we even knew Gitonga and his group would be visiting Ol Pejeta on a poaching mission at 10pm," Njue said. He said four rhinos have been killed by poachers in the last two months within Laikipia. "The killing of the endangered rhinos has forced us to seek support from police and national intelligence security service," said the officer.

He said the collaboration with intelligence officials has helped in coming up with a data base of all poachers adding that so far, 13 people have been arrested. "One of them was a dealer based in Nairobi 's South C estate. We arrested him and recovered two fresh rhino horns. The dealer, Mohammed Dilan, has been charged," he said.

Njue said the poachers are mainly targeting ranches in Laikipia since more than 60 per cent of rhinos are found in the region. "A kilo of rhino horn ifetches over Sh5million in China 's black market. This is a lot of money and it is for this reason that many people are engaged in this business," he said.

Njue said KWS is concerned that convicted poachers escape with light penalties. One can be fined as little as Sh20,000 for possessing a rhino horn, he said "We are appealing to our MPs to pass the Wildlife Bill so that poachers can be fined heavily or even be jailed without the option of a fine. The Bill has been lying there and it is high time our legislators passed it if we have to protect our endangered species ," he said. Two months ago, another suspected poacher was killed at Ol Pejeta Ranch.

Among the places where rhinos have been killed in the recent past include Mt Kenya Game Ranch, Solio Ranch and Ol Pejeta all within Laikipia County .