Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube, [email protected]
A PUMULA South man was dragged before the courts after he was allegedly caught red-handed trying to hustle a 6kg chunk of elephant ivory in broad daylight.
He has no license, no permit, and no clue the cops were watching!
Blessed Matibenga (30) appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Shingirai Mutiri facing charges of unlawful possession of ivory worth US$420.
According to prosecutor Concilia Ncube, on 31 January around 1 PM detectives from the Minerals, Flora and Fauna Unit (MFFU) swooped in at Amakhosi Garage following a hot tip-off.
“Detectives spotted Matibenga loitering near the road with a suspicious white sack,” Ncube told the court. “They identified themselves and asked to search the bag.”
Inside was a raw, unmarked piece of elephant ivory.
Matibenga allegedly failed to produce paperwork for the ivory, which was promptly seized and weighed at Zimpost Bulawayo in his presence, tipping the scale at a solid 6kg.
An official ecologist report confirmed the find was genuine elephant ivory, triggering Matibenga’s arrest under wildlife protection laws.
He’s now facing the wrath of the courts, and potentially years behind bars, for allegedly trying to trade in Zimbabwe’s most iconic national treasure.
Was it a solo hustle or part of a bigger poaching network? Stay locked to B-Metro for all the tusk-turning twists!
