THE government is closing in on key suspects behind the killing of a British pilot, Roger Gower, whose helicopter was gunned down by poachers in Maswa Game Reserve last Friday.
Addressing a news conference here
yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources
and Tourism, Maj Gen Gaudence Milanzi, said that the manhunt for the key
suspects was well underway.
According to the PS, the body of the
slain pilot was scheduled to be flown to the United Kingdom by a KLM
flight last night for further burial arrangements in his home country.
“It will not take long before the
suspects are pinned down. Our operatives on the ground are doing a good
job to that effect,” Maj Gen Milanzi vowed, flanked with officials from
the newly-formed Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA).
The team was in Dodoma after a site
visit at the scene of the incident, which occurred within Mwiba Hunting
Block in Maswa Game Reserve, Simiyu Region.
The PS would, however, not go into
details of the operation as doing so will jeopardise the mission. “While
there, we met with the Regional Security and Defence Committee as well
as operatives conducting the operation; and all is going on well.
The people on the ground are doing a
good job,” Maj Gen Milanzi remarked. Still lying at the scene, the
wreckage of the chopper is heavily guarded pending mandatory
investigations by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA), he
stated.
The former head of the National Defence
Commandant (NDC), who was appointed permanent secretary by President
John Magufuli, assured the country that the government will win the war
againstpoachers in national parks and game-controlled areas countrywide.
Available information indicates that the
poachers shot the pilot at close range while flying at low attitude
after he had observed a carcass of an elephant at around 05:30pm last
Friday.
According to the PS, rescuers arrived at
the scene two hours later due to the area’s rugged terrain. His
colleague, Mr Nicky Bester, survived with minor injuries.
Early this week, President Magufuli
strongly condemned the killing and directed the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Tourism to ensure that the involved culprits are c
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