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Fungai Lupande Harare Bureau
A-33-YEAR-OLD Chitungwiza man was yesterday jailed for nine years for attempting to sell a pangolin he had captured.
A pangolin is a protected animal in Zimbabwe.
Frank Mutanha, of Zengeza 3, Chitungwiza, pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a protected animal when he appeared before Harare magistrate, Rekina Dzikiti.
Dzikiti ruled that there were no special circumstances in the matter and invoked the mandatory nine-year prison term.
Mutanha’s accomplice, Richard Mabhiza, pleaded not guilty and will appear in court on Wednesday for trial.
Mutanha said he saw the pangolin in Nyanga and contacted the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. He claimed officials at the authority promised to pay him $10,000 if he handed over the pangolin to them.
Mutanha said he was arrested when he delivered the pangolin.
Dzikiti dismissed Mutanha’s claims.
“There’re no special circumstances and the trap was just ordinary as Mutanha wanted to sell the pangolin to a wrong person,” she said.
Prosecutor, Francesca Mukumbiri, said on August 17, this year police detectives got a tip off that Mutanha was in possession of a pangolin.
He was hiding the animal in a white sack while looking for a buyer.
Police arrested Mutanha and Mabhiza at Zindoga Shopping Centre in Waterfalls and recovered the live pangolin. It weighed 15.2kg and was valued at $5,000.
Online Reporter