Online Reporter
Kimberley Chitambara, [email protected]
TWO villagers who were arrested while trying to sell 1,6kg of pangolin skin worth US$5 000 in Bulawayo have each been sentenced to nine years in prison.
Mlamuleli Moyo (35) of Mlamuleli Village in Matopo District and Gugulethu Ncube (21) of Ward 24, Figtree in Bulilima District were convicted by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Archie Wochiwunga for possession of a specially protected animal trophy without a licence or permit.
The prosecutor, Mr Owen Mugari told the court that on September 14, detectives from the CID Minerals, Flora and Fauna Unit in Bulawayo were on patrol at Renkini Bus Terminus in Makokoba suburb when they received a tip-off that the two people were in possession of a pangolin skin and were looking for a buyer.
Acting on the information, detectives monitored the suspects standing near the exit point of the terminus. They approached them, identified themselves, and requested to search a satchel that Moyo was carrying.
“Police recovered a pangolin skin wrapped in a blue and white wrapper,” said Mr Mugari.
The pair failed to produce any licence or permit authorising them to possess the wildlife trophy, leading to their arrest.
The recovered skin was weighed at Zimpost in the presence of the accused and recorded at 1,646kg. It was later examined by an ecologist from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, who confirmed it to be genuine pangolin skin.
Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked mammals and are classified as specially protected animals in Zimbabwe under the Parks and Wildlife Act.
Possessing, harming, or trading in pangolins or their parts carries a mandatory sentence of up to nine years because of their declining population and growing demand on the illegal wildlife market.
