SEEJ-AFRICA THUMBNAIL:
- KWS and police arrested two men on Monday in possession of a live pangolin. They were found in the Samburu area, approximately 70 km north west of Mombasa.
- Karisa Chome Chengo and Bakari Jawa Mweru have been arraigned in Marikani Law court and face charges under the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act.
Kwale police arrest two illegal pangolin hunters
by SHABAN OMAR The Star
ILLEGAL POACHING: Two suspects arrested by police for being in possession of a pangolin in Samburu on Monday, June 27, 2022. Image: SHABAN OMAR
Kwale police have arrested two men who were illegally in possession of a pangolin.
The two were nabbed at the Malomani area in the Samburu sub-county.
The area police have confirmed the incident.
According to a police statement released on Monday, the duo were intercepted by the Kenya Wildlife Services officers.
The officers acted on a tip-off from the area residents.
“Mackinnon game reserve KWS officers received information of a poaching activity and responded swiftly,” says the statement.
The suspects were identified as Karisa Chome Chengo and Bakari Jawa Mweru.
Their motive is not yet not known but investigations are ongoing.
The pangolins are mammals of the order Pholidota also known as scaly anteaters.
They are poached for meat and used in traditional medicine and fashion.
Their number is reducing because of increased poaching.
The two are expected to be arraigned and charged in a court of law for being in possession of an endangered species without a permit or lawful exemption.
The pangolin was moved to a safe haven at Mackinnon Game Reserve.
The police have since then warned locals against illegal poaching.
In 2021, a Kwale government official was arrested by police officers after being found in illegal possession of 12 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 35 Kg in the Matuga sub-county.
He was arrested inside Kwale silent lodge by national intelligence and DCI officers.
The officers had posed as buyers after tracking the suspect for a long time.
The suspect wanted to sell the tusks at sh 100, 000 but have a higher value than that
A police report revealed that tusks originated from Kuranze ranches within Kinango with three elephants believed to have been affected.
Last year KWS community warden officer Jacob Orahle warned illegal poachers and urged them to surrender their hunting weapons.
Orahle said killing animals and selling bush meat was strongly forbidden and perpetrators risk jail terms.
This followed a decrease in some animal species within the Kwale forests that were highly suspected to have been poached.
Orahle urged residents to enhance cooperation in the fight against illegal poaching and the bush meat business.
