Africa-Press – Uganda. Court in Kampala has convicted two people and jointly fined them Shs160m after finding them guilty on charges of being in possession of protected wildlife species.
The convicts included a Yemen national, Al-Maamari Maged Mutahar Ali and Abubakari Mustafa, a Ugandan.
The two were convicted on Wednesday by the Utilities, Standards and Wildlife Court in Kampala of illegal possession of protected wildlife specimen, attempted export of wildlife specimen without a permit and conspiracy to commit a felony.
This was after the duo was arrested on May 29, 2022 at Entebbe International Airport with 26 pieces of Rhino horns weighing 15 kilograms.
The Rhino horns were concealed in food items to disguise their identity.
Court found the duo guilty and sentenced Al-Maamari Maged Mutahar Ali to pay a fine of Shs60m for illegal possession of protected wildlife specimen, Shs60m for attempted export of wildlife specimen without a permit and a caution for conspiracy to commit a felony. This means that the total fine Mutahar will pay is Shs120m.
Court further ordered for his immediate deportation from the country.
His driver, Abubakar Mustafa was sentenced to pay a fine of Uganda Shs20m for illegal possession of wildlife specimen, Shs20m for attempted export wildlife without a permit and a caution for conspiracy to commit a felony. Mustafa’s total fine is Shs40m.
The court also confiscated and handed over to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) the vehicle Registration number UBH 194E that the duo used in the commission of the offences. The vehicle is now a property of the authority.
Mr Bashir Hangi, the Communications Manager at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said the arrests were a testimony that Uganda is working hard to eliminate all forms of illegal wildlife trafficking and poaching.
“Uganda Wildlife Authority applauds the security agencies that participated in the operation, the Office of the Director Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary for supporting the conservation of wildlife in Uganda,” he said.
Uganda has 35 Rhinos and none of them have been poached so far. It is not clear where the two convicts obtained the rhino horns.
Out of the five species of rhino that exist today, three of them — the black rhino, the Javan rhinoceros, and the Sumatran rhino — are listed as critically endangered.
The white rhino is considered near threatened with decreasing populations, and the greater one-horned rhinoceros (sometimes called the Indian rhino) is designated as vulnerable with increasing populations.
In the case of the white rhino, the majority (over 99 per cent) are present in just five countries; South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
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