The acting Chief Magistrate, Kyenjojo Nambozo Joy, has sentenced two people to 4 years in jail for illegal entry into a protected area and 12 years in jail for killing protected wildlife species.
They include; Habimana Sabanitah and Sobomaana Augustine, both residents of Rwamwanja refugee settlement in Kamwenge district.
The two were arrested by Uganda wildlife Authority personnel inside Katonga wildlife reserve and they were found in possession of dead bush buck, 2 pangas, 2 sharp spears and 8 wire snares that were used to kill the animal.
Upon arrest, the suspects were transferred to Kyegegwa police station and later produced before the chief Court of Kyenjojo to take plea and the accused pleaded guilty to the counts of illegal entry and killing a protected wildlife species.
Prosecution led by Latif Amis contended that the two deprived the public, the wild and economy of the benefits of conservation including tourism, employment and foreign exchange earnings.
He stated that the court needed to send a clear signal to the public to desist from such criminal acts especially now that tourism is seriously hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and that people poaching doubles the jeopardy.
The chief Magistrate noted that tourism plays key role in Uganda’s economy hence sentencing the convicts to a fine of 100 currency points (Shs2000,000) or serve for 4 years in jail for illegal entry and 10,000 currency (Shs2000,000,000) or serve 12 years in jail for killing a protected wildlife species. The sentence will run concurrently.
Illegal hunting for bush hunting and poaching for ivory are some of the crimes that Uganda is grappling with today.
In most cases the wildlife trafficking supply chain starts around rural communities near wildlife habitats from where it feeds into urban centres on its way out of the country.
Last year, Uganda launched the National Wildlife Crime Coordination Task Force (NWCCTF) which is an umbrella body with the overall command to combat wildlife crime in Uganda.
It was established with the facilitation of Wildlife Conservation Society, Uganda in 2018 and inaugurated by the government of Uganda on February 11 2020 as part of efforts to combat wildlife crime of both a local and international nature.
NWCCTF comprises thirteen (13) law enforcement agencies and each member institution brings to the table different technical and technological expertise and networks that are leveraged to efficiently and expeditiously tackle wildlife crime in Uganda.
Its goal is to promote cooperation and coordination among the member institutions through information sharing, conducting joint operations and expediting prosecutions aimed at combating wildlife crime in Uganda.
The taskforce contributed to the development of the national strategy for combating poaching, illegal trade and trafficking of wildlife and wildlife Products that still await ministerial approval.
NWCCTF was born out of the need to tackle illegal wildlife trade that is increasingly becoming sophisticated especially now with free easy access to the internet, a major funder of insurgency and the fact that the trade is currently a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry whose annual proceeds to date are estimated at 36 trillion Uganda shilling, the biggest poaching driver among other factors.