Are South Africans involved in massive poaching inside the Hwange National Park; - involving a network of high-ranking Wildlife and National Parks officials in cahoots with a few named local and foreign safari operators?

That is the vexing question that comes to the fore in the Zimbabwe orgy that has led to the large scale massacre of threatened species in South Africa’s neighbour country.

“Some powerful government minister has simply taken over the National Park as his own safari area and we are powerless to stop it,” said a National Parks officer who cannot be named for reasons of personal security.

The Zimbabwean reported it has been given detailed information in the form of documents which show that this has been happening intensively over the past 18 months. It is extremely difficult to prove that the hunts are illegal, as the Parks officers are simply instructed by high-ranking government officials to grant hunting concessions in a clandestine manner.

It is alleged that illegal hunters set up base at the Pandamatenga Rest Camp in Botswana from where they cross the Zimbabwean boarder each morning to hunt elephant and buffalo.

Butch Manasse, a seasoned South African hunter, is mentioned in the documents as aledgedly playing a leading role. Investigations show that the poaching syndicate has tentacles at all levels – including the local police. Last month a Zimbabwean hunter, Mitch Bunce, caught Wilfred Belani after he had shot a cow elephant in the Sikumi Forest.

Belani was taken to Tshotsholo police station, but no formal charge was laid. A week later the same Belani was taken to Dete Police Station after he shot and wounded a bull elephant on a bow-hunt. During the act he was with a South African, Donovan Harris from Lewis Harris Safaris. They failed to kill the animal and it went back into the bush wounded.

At the police station the hunters claimed they had a license to operate in the area. To date the case has still not been investigated. Baleni is reported to have received US$2 000 from Harris for his role in the hunt.

The elephant was shot in the forest near the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo railway line. The names of Ministers Obert Mpofu, Webster Shamu and Emerson Mnangagwa consistently appear whenever there is a reported case.
The names of certain hunters said to aledgedly be working with the department of parks and the politicians continue to crop up - Lawrence Botha, Wayne Jardine, Guy Whittal and Wilfred Belani.

Recently five Romanians, a Parks warden and a professional hunter were arrested by a parks officer for illegally hunting elephants. Their vehicle, rifles and equipment were impounded, and charges laid against them. However, before going to court, they were released and given back all their equipment. High ranking police sources say that they were aledgedly released on order of the minister of environment and tourism, Francis Nhema.

Thanks for posting this...

Actually naming names...not the usual "somebody" I care not to at the moment.

there are some pretty well known names among the PH's listed here. sure would like to hear more from our Zim members but i have a sneaking suspicion nobody wants to further open this can of worms. when the original report pertaining to Belani and Lew Harris Safaris popped up here, there was quite an uproar.

That Botha name sure rings a bell....

quote:

Originally posted by dinsdale:
Thanks for posting this...

Actually naming names...not the usual "somebody" I care not to at the moment.

Echo Delta, please accept my thanks also for posting this disturbing information.

Where do we place, and how do we apportion, the blame for this? More importantly: How do we fix the unacceptable situation?

Do we blame the named ministers and possibly involved South Africans? Disgusting as it is, they are only 'grasping money-making opportunities' that were created by others! In a capitalist society there is nothing wrong with identifying and making maximum use of any opportunity to make money! Or is there? Yes, these people are doing things that are supposed to be illegal! But the country's 'rulers' allow it - so it must be regarded as 'acceptable', even if strictly against the law.

Even adding Uncle Bob as one of the involved perpetrators [as he no doubt is] does not really change the situation: They are 'only' using opportunities to make money that is allowed by the country's rulers!

We can now ask: How come the country has such pathetic rulers? The bottom line reply to this is: The citizens of the USA, UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland and quite a few other countries 'encouraged' their governments to force Ian Smith to hand over a well managed and ruled country to non other than the terrorist Robert Mugabe! Maybe 'encouraged' is not the best word to use, but there were certainly no big outcry from the 'man-in-the-street' in these countries while the politicians that they have chosen by democratic election played the politics of interfering in the governance of an independent nation: The UDI Rhodesia ruled by Ian Smith.

Many reading this can honestly say: I had nothing to do with it; I was only a kid way back in the late 60's! To them I ask: What have you done when much more recently Robert Mugabe lost an election, but cheated and delayed releasing the results and really in a way pulled off a coup d'état! Did you support Thabo Mbeki's and his fellow terrorists’ policy of "quiet diplomacy" towards a fellow terrorist in danger of loosing control in a neighboring country?

How are we, as nature lovers and hunters, going to fix the totally unacceptable situation? I really wish I knew and could give solid leadership and suggestions. But one element common to allowing the situation to develop is the non-involvement of “you”, the man-in-the-street in USA, UK and all the other countries. It is “your” lack of participation – and unfortunately misguided support in many cases – in allowing the terrorist Robert Mugabe and the terrorist Thabo Mbeki to gain the positions they have/had! Please do not let your continued non-involvement further destroy Africa! Write to your congressman, or other elected politicians, make them aware of the situation and demand action to rectify the mistakes of the past!


Someone here at AR uses a very apt signature line about: On the plains of hessitation....." Don't hessitate: Do something! Remember that there are most unlikely to be many, if any, letters to your congressman that urges him to sanction and approve the further rape of Zimbabwe's natural resources. So you will be on the 'majority' side in this instance! But if you do not do something, well your congressman is probably looking for money-making opportunities himself! Please act!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren