Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
A 50-YEAR-OLD Harare man has been ordered to pay a US$200 fine or serve four months in jail after he was arrested for unlawful possession of four tortoises.
Peter Muchenje was found guilty of contravening the Parks and Wildlife Act.
It was the State’s case that Muchenje moved four tortoises from Mutoko area to Harare without a permit in contravention of the act.
On May 16, 2025, detectives received information that Muchenje was in possession of four tortoises in Highlands area in Harare and was looking for buyers.
Detectives from CID Flora and Fauna Unit managed to get Muchenje’s contact number and posed as potential buyers. The court heard that Muchenje directed them to his place of residence so that they could complete the transaction.
The detectives arrived at the convict’s residence and he asked for US$25 for each tortoise. Muchenje returned to his house and brought a blue sack that contained the four tortoises.
The detectives identified themselves and asked him to produce documentation which authorised him to possess the tortoises and he failed to do so, leading to his arrest.
An official from the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority identified the tortoises as tetsudidae.
The recovered four tortoises are valued at US$2 000.
