Tanzania: Poachers Awarded 160-Year Sentence

By Faustin Kapama

THE High Court's Corruption and Economic Division has sentenced five poachers to a total of 160 years each for unlawful possession of 67 skins of different wild animals, which are government trophies valued at over 130m/-.

Judge Elinaza Luvanda ruled against Marwa Joel Marwa, Mwikwabe Mete Marwa, Chacha Marwa Machagi, Samwel Namba Baligari and Malisery Charles Malisery after the prosecution proved eight economic charges against them beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge ordered every accused person to go to jail for 20 years after convicting them on each among the eight counts they were charged with.

However, Judge Luvanda directed the sentence to run concurrently. This means, each of the convicts will remain behind bars for only 20 years.

The accused persons were also charged with another count of unlawful possession of weapons in certain circumstances and were also convicted by the court upon considering the evidence tendered. The judge ordered each of them to pay 200,000/- fine.

During the trial, the five convicts were charged jointly with one person identified as Paulo Ryoba Mwita, who was also convicted of all nine economic charges.

The judge sentenced him to a conditional discharge for a period of six months, for which he would be under the supervision of a Social Welfare Officer at Serengeti District, Mara Region.

No details were given in the court's judgment as to why the convict was given the sentence in question. During the trial, all convicts had given a defence of alibi, to show that they were not arrested at the crime scene as alleged by the prosecution.

In his judgment, however, the judge noted sufficient evidence implicating all the convicts to have been arrested at the restricted game reserve areas. Such line of defence, he said, was not tested to the prosecution witness, who drew an account on how and where the convicts were arrested when giving evidence.

"No question was asked by any defence counsel to controvert a fact that all six (convicts) were arrested on April 6, 2019 at the scene of incident at Olorkiku Loliondo within a controlled areas where they had established a camp and found in constructive possession of skins and equipment," the judge said.

He pointed out that in law, a fact not contravened is as good one as having been accepted. Therefore, the judge said that credibility of the witness was not shaken neither was an attempt to impeach his testimony on any fact or point.

It was the testimony of the prosecution witnesses that at the scene of crime where the convicts had camped is within a controlled area of Ngorongoro, where human activities are prohibited. He stated that the six convicts had no permit either to establish a camp there or for possession of government trophies.

According to the witness, the wire snare found in possession of the convicts is used for trapping animals and the knives, bush knives and long double edged knives are used for slaughtering, stripping of skin and chopping up pieces of meat.

During the trial, the prosecution had told the court that on April 6, 2019 at Loliondo Game controlled area within Ngorongoro District in Arusha region, the six convicts were jointly and together found in possession of several skins of animals, which are government trophies, the property of the government.

They include 25 Wildebeest skins which is equivalent to 25 killed Wildebeests valued at 37,389,625/-, other 25 skins of Zebra, equivalent to 27 killed Zebra worth 74,549,160/-, two skins of Topi, which is equivalent to two killed Topi valued at 3,681,440/-.

The rest are two skins of Hartebeest, equivalent to two killed Hartebeest valued at 1,495,585/-, three skins of Thomson Gazelle, equivalent to three killed Thomson Gazelle valued at 3,451,350/- and one skin of Warthog, equivalent to one killed Warthog worth 901,755/-.

Others are one skin of Eland which is equivalent to one killed Eland valued at 3,406,630/- and six skins of Impala, equivalent to six killed Impala valued at 5,384,106/-.

The prosecution charged that the convicts were found in possession of the skins without a permit from the Director of Wildlife.

Apart from the government trophies, the prosecution had further told the court that the convicts were also found in unlawful possession of weapons, including two machetes, one sword, one knife and eighty nine (89) wire snare