Commentary
Kenyan Courts Return Smuggled Rosewood. CITES says it’s Illegal. An Analysis. (Part One)
It does not happen often that a criminal uses the legal system to retrieve its contraband investment. But that is exactly what occurred in a
Category: Commentary
Commentary
Kenya’s 90% wildlife crime conviction rate: a ladle of data, a generous measure of illegal grazing, a soupçon of corruption and a dash of perspective
The Republic versus James Tipape and 2 Others – Criminal Case 346 of 2015 Taveta It is a rarity for a decision on a wildlife
Commentary
Your Rangers Are In The Crosshairs – An Open Letter to Brigadier (Rtd.) John Waweru, Director General Kenya Wildlife Service
KWS Warden II Bajila Obed Kofa KWS Assistant Warden Francis Isaac Awour Oyaro Dear Director, It has been some time since my last letter, almost
Commentary
Do Recent “Kidnappings” Suggest Unsubstantiated Rhino Poaching Report has Substance
Five recent “kidnappings” in Central Kenya may confirm anonymous reports of poached rhinos in Kenya. SEEJ-AFRICA has failed to confirm anonymous reports that in recent
Commentary
No Beacon Shining on this Mombasa Court Room
A March 2021 report, “Kenya a Beacon in Fighting Transnational Wildlife Crime” painted a rosy picture of how Kenya’s fight against wildlife crime was progressing.
Africa
A Spectre of Corruption – The “Shetani” Ivory Case
The ivory trafficking case of “Shetani”, profiled in documentary “The Ivory Game” was likely corrupted. It began as a whisper. An ambiguous and innocuous headline,
Commentary
The “Enterprise”, the Burundi stockpile, and other ivory behind the Extradition.
Moazu Kromah, Amara Cherif and Mansur Mohamed Surur are responsible for selling hundreds of tonnes of African ivory. This is the story of some of
Commentary
Legal Precedent or “Legal” Corruption – The Repatriation of Seized Ivory
In the spring of 2015, the conservation world was rocked by three major ivory seizures that occurred within the space of a month. Thailand customs
Commentary
Wildlife Crime – Recognizing Corruption in the Courtroom
Four or more criteria present in a “cartel” case indicates that someone has their fingers on the scales. Sitting in the dock of courtroom 5,
Commentary
Why Wildlife Traffickers are Escaping Justice
John M. Sellar OBE is an independent advisor in the fields of anti-smuggling, fraud and organized crime. Between 1997 and 2011, he was Chief of
Commentary
The UNODC 2020 Wildlife Crime Report-More Harm than Good for Elephants?
Has Poaching Increased or Decreased in Africa? On Friday July 10th, 2020, the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) presented the 2020 Wildlife
Commentary
Poaching and the Problem with Conservation in Africa – A Rebuttal
On March 3rd, 2020, as I was trolling through the twitter news feed for conservation stories I came across “Poaching and the problem with conservation
Commentary
Legally Speaking, Can an Elephant Tusk be Anything Else?
I was in Mombasa Court yesterday listening to a case from 2018 where two ‘gentlemen’ were snagged in a car heading to Mombasa with 37
Commentary
Self-censorship, Truth, Corruption and Calling “BULLSHIT!”.
In October 2018, on the strength of a study paper I wrote on “Courtroom Monitoring – Countering Corruption in Wildlife Crime “, I found myself
Commentary
Mombasa Port Stakeholder Workshop – An Apology and Explanation
I am going a little off script this week in an attempt to extricate myself from a shit pit I jumped into a few weeks
The 3 C’s of Illegal WildlifeTrafficking – China, China and China
Since my “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” year in Afghanistan, I have become a healthy skeptic of official
Commentary
Moazu Kromah and the Case of the West African Cartel
MOAZU KROMAH AND THE CASE OF THE WEST AFRICAN IVORY CARTEL In a landscape where the obtaining of false passports, birth certificates and identification cards
Commentary
Kenya Wildlife Service Sits Idle as their South African Adviser Deported
December 20, 2018 The last year has not been kind to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) or perhaps it is more appropriate to say that
Commentary
The Appeal Acquittal of Feisal Mohamed Ali – A Victory for Rule of Law, a Process Corrupted, or Both
The Appeal Acquittal of Feisal Mohamed Ali: A Victory for Rule of Law, a Process Corrupted, or Both Could it have come at worse time