adminLeonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
A Parks and Wildlife ranger who allegedly connived with some villagers to poison elephants using cyanide in the Hwange National Park, was yesterday granted $600 bail.
Lucky Mubewure, 30, stationed at Hwange Main Camp is facing two charges.
One is of hunting an animal within the national park area after he allegedly shot and killed a bull elephant while on duty in March this year and sold its tusks.
In the second crime he is jointly charged with Gilbert Mathe, 40 and Mkhululi Ngwenya, 27 both from Dete for possessing a hazardous substance after a kilogramme of cyanide was recovered from them.
The trio was granted bail by Hwange magistrate Portia Mhlanga-Moyo.
Mubewure was granted $400 on the illegal hunting allegation and $200 on the second charge of possessing a hazardous substance.
Mathe and Ngwenya were also granted $200 bail each.
The three will be back in court on December 16 and have not been asked to plead.
The court ordered the trio to report once every fortnight at Dete Police Station, to reside at their given addresses and not to interfere with witnesses.
The State seeks to prove that Mubewure killed an elephant on Kennedy One Farm, the same farm where Cecil the Lion was shot and killed.
derick.khumalo