http://allafrica.com/stories/2...a_source=sptlgt-grid


Zimbabwe: Game Ranger to Hang Over Murder
30 September 2013




A GAME ranger was on Monday sentenced to death after shooting a man 10 times during a botched operation to arrest elephant poachers.

Trigger-happy Maxwell Bowa, 53, shot Lennon Nkosana, 29, as he fled from a kitchen hut which had been surrounded by a 10-man strong team of rangers from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management and uniformed police officers.

Justice Lawrence Kamocha of the Bulawayo High Court, on circuit in Gweru, heard how the team of rangers and police officers went on patrol in the Simchembo area of Gokwe on June 12 last year trying to track down poachers and locate ivory.

The rangers had intelligence that a local man, Tanaka Nyoni, was a poacher and may had some ivory hidden away, said Tafadzwa Mupariwa, prosecuting.

When the rangers and police failed to locate Nyoni, the court heard, they went to the Nkosana homestead where they allegedly tried to extract information on poachers by assaulting all those present, some hit with the butt of their guns.

The victim, said he prosecutor, bolted from the hut and Bowa pulled the trigger, shooting him at least 10 times as he fled.

After the shooting, the rangers and the officers left the scene. Bowa was only arrested after his brothers who witnessed the killing filed a police report.

Justice Kamocha told Bowa, who had pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder, that he had shot an innocent man in cold blood, as he sentenced him to face the gallows.

Zimbabwe has not carried out any death sentences since 2005 when armed robbers and convicted murderers Edgar Masendeke and Stephen Chidhumo were hanged.

heres a petition to sign

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/pe...ing_a_poacher/?pv=24

Done
Thanks Ivan.

signed

The hype regarding this story and petition is disturbing. Whilst one cannot believe anything one reads, all the articles relating to this incident have a few things in common.

1. The rangers and police were looking for a suspected poacher, and went to the home of the deceased to get information about that suspect.
2. In order to extract information about said suspect, they set about beating the deceased and his brothers, who, quite naturally, ran away.
3. The accused ranger (stationed outside)opened fire at close range on unarmed, running men.
4. One report I've read says the deceased was shot twice in the chest, but most say he was shot 10 times. One thing that seems certain is that the ranger fired 10 shots.
5. After the killing, the rangers and officers left the scene without making a report to anyone. Only later was it brought to the attention of other police officers by the victim's family.

10 shots? At unarmed, running men? Come on... When I think of how many raids I've been on when something similar happened. Thank God I was never with a trigger happy clown like this.

It is one thing shooting armed rhino and elephant poachers, shooting a running, unarmed man is quite another.

Everybody has jumped on the 'save this innocent ranger' bandwagon simply because he is a ranger and shot a 'despicable poacher', who may or may not have actually been a poacher.

What happens in the army when a soldier shoots an unarmed civilian dead? What threat was there to this 10 strong, armed group of rangers/police from the unarmed trio in the hut? The answer is none whatsoever.

Our rangers and police shoot armed poachers fairly regularly and none of them are had up for murder. Why this guy? Because it was murder. Who leaves the scene and doesn't bother to make a report to anyone after killing someone? That's right, only murderers.

It's unlikely he'll hang anyway - Zim hasn't hung someone since 2005.

I won't sign this petition, because I believe the ranger is guilty of murder, and the people sharing and signing are encouraging a 'feel free to take the law into your own hands' scenario. I'm sure the victim's family won't be signing either. I'd be willing to bet that most who have signed know nothing at all about the case, even if only from a journalist's perspective. If one unlucky, ricocheting warning shot hit the guy, or something like that, sure. But 10 shots?

David

A PH I talked to in Zim was a game warden before becoming a PH. His anti poaching patrol was ambushed and two of his men were killed. he took two rangers and ran the poachers to ground, killing one in a fire fight. He was arrested, thrown in jail, and charged with murder. Only by the grace of God and good friends was he able to get out. Of course the fact that he was white didn't help......

What does one do?

2 mates of mine were imprisoned and charged with murder for retaliating against poachers armed with AK and 375. Both poachers initiated the contact. Neither of my mates was sentenced.

I was threatened with murder charges after shooting a lion off one of my staff members in Botswana. I only had a shotgun at the time but if one pellet had been in his body, I was bliksemed! Fortunately (for me and not him, the poor bugger) he was killed by the lion and no shot was in his person.

I did sweat a bit that day!

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
heres a petition to sign

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/pe...ing_a_poacher/?pv=24

The petition says he killed the poacher in the line of duty and possibly self defense.

The court convicted him of shooting an unarmed man who was running away.

The petition doesn't give any details.

Ivan, I signed the petition. I think that when I hunted in Chrisa 14 years ago, Maxwell was our Game Scout. He was a very likeable guy and always pitched in when there was work to do.

I'm with you on this Dave Hulme.

Three sides to this story...........

1. The "petition" story.
2. The "10 shots in the back" story
3. The TRUTH !!!

I haven't signed the petition