Case Conclusion: On April 25th, 2019, before Senior Principal Magistrate Francis Kyambia, the accused, Ephantus Gitonga Mbare, was acquitted. SPM Kyambia stated that the real culprits were not brought before the court and that the accused was a mere pawn in a criminal ring.
He further stated that the prosecution had not proved the charges against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
1097 kg of Ivory Found in Hollowed Timber
SEEJ-AFRICA THUMBNAIL:
- December 21st, 2016, Kenyan law enforcement seized just over one ton of ivory inbound for Cambodia.
- The 1097 kg of ivory valued at 197 million shillings was hidden in hollow wooden planks and declared as ceramics.
- The shipment had actually cleared Mombasa and was returned from Singapore after 6 other lined seizures in Vietnam and Cambodia.
- Many of the pieces of ivory had red ink marks – an indication that they had previously been seized.
- The consignment originated from DRC/South Sudan and crossed into Uganda through the border point at Elegu by truck. According to the Bill of Lading, the place of delivery was indicated by the exporter as Sihanoukville in Cambodia and country of origin was indicated as Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Ephantus Gitonga Mbare was charged on 23rd December 2016 at a Mombasa Court with two counts of illegal wildlife trade
- The case was concluded on 25th April 2019 and Ephantus Mbare acquitted. The court indicated that there were poor investigations and the real culprits were not brought before the court.
- This one seizure was directly related to nine other seizures all going to Vietnam and Cambodia from Mombasa, Mozambique, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
DNA Origins Map
