Tanzania: Govt Probes Revenue Authority On Wildlife Smuggling


Nairobi — Tanzanian Conservationists are furious over delays by the Government in unearthing an illegal wildlife trade.

The smuggling syndicate has sucked in Government officials from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) with one of the employees at the agency getting retired in June last year.

Reports indicate that in November, 2010, Qatar Emiri Air force landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) and flew out 136 live wildlife worth $113,715 to Doha in Qatar.

It took the Tanzanian security organs five months to discover wildlife had been smuggled out. Kilimanjaro Regional Police Commander, Lucas Ngh'omboko, told The East African last week that an investigation is underway in Dar es Salaam.

The preliminary report shows the deal involved government officials, International traders, airport security personnel and ground handlers.

It is estimated that the illegal trade in wildlife fetches between $10 billion and $20 billion a year, making it the second-largest global illicit trade after drugs.

Certificate of valuation of smuggled wildlife by game officer, Oscar Julius Lipili, indicates that four giraffes, regarded as 'Tanzania's national symbol', were among the animals smuggled out. Others include the Oryx, Thomson's gazelles, Impalas, Dik Dik, three Elands, 20 Grant's gazelle, Seven Kori Bustard, four Ground Hornbill, two Lapet Faced Vultures and a Serval Cat respectively.

On the list was one Secretary bird, five spring hares and two black verreoux Eagles.

Patience Minga, manager of TRA in Kilimanjaro, said the animals were transported out when the customs office at KIA was closed. "TRA is shocked that its Preventive Assistant, Miraji Msakamali, who is implicated in the scandal, retired on June 30, 2010," she said.Kilimanjaro airport operates 24 hours but the important offices like TRA do not thus leaving a loop hole for the syndicate to smuggle out animals and other goods.

Gaudence Temu, Managing Director for Swissport Tanzania Limited, the ground handling company said Swissport is far from the scam and that Equity Aviation Services only hired carriage equipment apparently to load the animals.

Ha... it's never happened before!

Six in court over theft, export of wildlife valued at 170.6m/-

By The guardian reporter

11th June 2011

Six people, including a businessman of Pakistani origin, have been brought before the Kilimanjaro Resident Magistrate's Court in connection with the theft and illegal export of protected wildlife.

Arusha-based trader Kamrani Ahmed and five others, including four officials working at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), have been indicted on charges of economic sabotage for their role in procuring and smuggling 136 animals of 14 different species outside Tanzania.

Other defendants are local businesswoman Hawa Mang’unyuka, zoo sanitary inspector Martin Kimati, Kenya national and KIA flight operator Jane Mbogo, KIA’s chief security officer Veronica Beno and Locken Kimaro, a security officer for Kilimanjaro Development Company Limited (KADCO), which oversees the airport.

State prosecutor Zakayo Bajana, assisted by prosecutors Verutas Mlay and Malangwe Mchungahela, alleged before magistrate in charge Simon Kobelo that, the accused stole from the United Republic of Tanzania and subsequently smuggled 14 species of protected wildlife valued at 170.6mil/- (USD 113,715) to destinations outside Tanzania.

Reading the charge sheet for the first defendant, Ahmed, state attorney Mlay claimed that the accused’s actions to illegally export wildlife to Doha, in Qatar, were in contravention of Sections 51 (1) and 60 of the Economic Sabotage and Crime Prevention Act.

The prosecution alleges that the defendant willfully conspired to procure the animals, and oversaw their capture and subsequent smuggling outside Tanzania in contravention of national statutes in and around November 26, last year.

The loot included four giraffes, 68 Thomson's gazelles, 20 Grant's gazelles, two impalas, 3 elands, 10 dik-diks, two lappet-faced vultures, seven kori bustard, four ground hornbill and two serval cats, according to state attorney Mlay.

On the list too, were one secretary bird, five spring hares and two black verreoux eagles, according to the certificate dated March 11, 2011, in reference to criminal case No. KIA/IR/31/2011, and a subsidiary cargo of dried game meat.

The prosecution is further alleging negligence on Kimati’s part in his role as wildlife inspector at the airport, saying he created an environment that made the theft of the protected national trophies possible.

The other four defendants are charged with aiding and abetting wildlife poaching in violation of the Economic Sabotage Act. The prosecution claims that in the time before and or after November 26, 2010, the accused helped the first defendant smuggle live wildlife outside the country knowing full well that their actions were against the law.

Defendants Ahmed, Kimati, Mbogo, Beno and Kimaro are also charged with unlawful possession of government trophies in violation of statutes 86(1) and 86(2) of the Wildlife Preservation Act of 2009. The state claims that the accused illegally took custody of protected wildlife on the days before and after November 26, 2010.

Additionally, all six are on the hook on charges of misusing government documents in breach of Sections 80(1) and 84 of the 2009 Wildlife Preservation Act, for their use of government papers to traffic in illegal wildlife cargo.

The four KIA officials are also charged with failing to prevent a crime, having been at work at the airport during the incident and not intervening to prevent Ahmed from exporting wild animals to Qatar.

The prosecutors have also charged them with failing to report an economic crime in accordance with the provisions of Sections 87(1) and (2) of the 2009 Act, claiming that, as government employees, they had the duty to step in.

The accused were denied bail, and have been remanded into custody until the case is next mentioned, as the Magistrate’s Court has no jurisdiction over economic sabotage cases.

The Economic Sabotage and Crime Prevention Act stipulates that those accused of sabotaging the economy can only be tried before the High Court, according to state prosecutor Bajana. The next mention will be June 24, this year.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN