SEEJ-AFRICA NOTE: It was reported this week that a Joseph Mathias Rote was convicted of dealing in a trophy belonging to a critically endangered species, contrary to Section 92(2) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013.  The Office of Director of Public Prosecutions stated he was sentenced to five years imprisonment  without a fine option in a ruling passed down by Senior Principal Magistrate Cecilia Kithinji.  Based on the reported value of the ivory and KWS’s usual value estimation matrix, the amount of ivory found was 3.5 kg. 

SPM Kithinji had transferred to Taveta Law Court in early 2025 with the trial being initially presided over by Principal Magistrate D.M Ndungi. The trial took just over two years but included an incredible 70 sittings. 

Court monitoring in Voi Law Courts indicated that in three previous ivory trafficking trials where SPM Kithinji made a finding of guilt, the accused were sentenced in each case to seven years jail. 

For a number of years, SEEJ-AFRICA was of the belief that Taveta Law Court was a court tainted by corruption.  In 2016 and 2017, a seemingly impossible number of illegal grazing and illegal entry into a national park cases were being processed and in such a manner to impact on the national conviction rate of WCMA offences. An ODPP prosecutor from that court was also arrested during that time for taking bribes while a Taveta court magistrate with a history of questionable decisions, left under unclear conditions.

Media report below.