Zambia Wildlife Authority officers implicated in poaching

18 November,06

On Sunday 12 November 06, a matriarchal herd of elephant was attacked in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley by an AK47 wielding poacher, accompanied by seven unarmed meat carriers; an adult female and a juvenile killed - possibly another killed, and one seen crossing the river with blood on its side. Twenty-three shots were heard at the nearby Malone safari camp – closed for the rainy season, between 8.00 and 11.00 a.m.. Later that afternoon, at 4.00 p.m. two Wildlife Police Officers of the Zambia Wildlife Authority appeared at Malone and requested transport from the camp-in-charge, David Chileka – also a police reservist, and were driven inland for some 30 km to where four other officers were waiting. Nearby lay two elephant carcasses, their tusks removed and much of their flesh, numerous pieces of clothing, bedding, food and pots lying nearby, evidence of the gang. Seeing some vultures in trees in the distance, Chileka was told that there was probably another dead elephant there. No attempt was made to verify this.

The six scouts, all armed similarly with AK47’s, stated that the camp in-charge, Benson Mwale, had heard shots at their nearby camp, Ndevu, had then sent someone on foot to another camp, Kalansha – some 15 km away, for reinforcements, then much later in the day, after guards from Kalansha had arrived on foot, the armed group of six walked in the direction of the shots, eventually coming on the gang of eight, who had then run away. Firing a few shots in the air, and showing no inclination to go in pursuit, the officers then settled down to cut off as much meat as possible, the officers-in-charge of the two anti-poaching camps, Mbo and Mwale, walking to the Malone camp to request transport. A full load of meat was then delivered to the river crossing point at the nearby Ndevu game camp (where early that morning a fishermen, Gandi, had seen the gang collecting water), the officers explaining that local villagers could not have the meat as it was needed in the nearby town of Nyimba, and that they were waiting for their boss. When the Nyimba officer- in-charge of ZAWA, a Mr Chibeka, came, he reportedly recovered one bag of meat, another nine having disappeared.

On Tuesday, 14 November, the two camp officers-in-charge were seen on the Ndevu-Nyimba road, both drunk, and later, on Thursday 16th seen drinking at 9.00 a.m. in a nearby village.

Two weeks earlier an elephant had been killed in the same area and the ivory removed. Two other cases of poaching, one of a buffalo by a village scout, another of an ex-scout found in full uniform and hunting a hippo with a muzzle loader, unaccompanied by a monitoring scout as is required, is being investigated.

These disturbing events, given that in 2005 ZAWA village scouts had been caught poaching a buffalo, hippo and bushbuck, swopping some of the meat for village beer, suggest the collusion of ZAWA and village scouts in a meat and ivory poaching ring. Investigations are currently underway by the Chairman of the Community Resource Board, Mr Axon Lungu.

Conservationists continue to be alarmed at the well organized bushmeat and ivory trade in Zambia, it being recently revealed by the Malawi Anti-Corruption Commission that 23 tons of ivory had passed through Lilongwe on its way to the Far East over an eight year period. No arrests have been made.