The eight poachers who earlier applied for bail had their application turned down by magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti.She said the eight were not suitable candidates for bail and she remanded them in custody to the 29 of October 2010.

The eight who include a father and his two sons are part of the suspected poachers who appeared before magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti and prosecutor Tendai Chiduwa on 12 October 2010.The eight, three from the Democratic Republic of Congo, three from Zambia and two from Zimbabwe. The eight are being charged with contravening the Parks and Wildlife Act chapter 20; 14 which is hunting specially protected animals and Section 28 of the Criminal Law Codification Act “Possess Arms of Law.

It is alleged that on 12 June 2010, all the accused persons went to Lake Kyle in Masvingo and illegally hunted two rhinoceros, killed them and dehorned them and left the scene. On 26 August 2010, the accused persons went to Nyamanechi Sanctuary in Guruve and they killed one white rhinoceros and dehorned it. On 25 September 2010 the accused persons went again to Masvingo to hunt but were disturbed and managed to escape but they hid their AK rifle there in the bush in order to avoid detection. All in all the accused persons killed a total three rhinoceros.

On October 5 at about 1230 hours detectives from Border Control Unit Headquarters received information from reliable sources to the effect that a team of poachers had gone out for poaching some rhinoceros in Masvingo area. Police waylaid their vehicle a resulting in their arrest.

The eight are Yemba Pauni Mulamba, 56 and his two sons Lomane and Yemba Mulamba aged 24 and 26 respectively all from the Democratic Republic of Congo, three Zambians Wiljoni Meki, 46, Justin Tembo 46 and Patrick Chibila 54 and two Zimbabweans Shapiro Shungu Michael Tagwireyi, 28 and Owen Godzi age not given.

The case had been postponed to the next day, 13 October 2010, to facilitate for the presence of a Nyanja and Tonga interpreter. If convicted the accused persons face a mandatory 9 year prison sentence. Parks and Wildlife Management Authority commends the sterling work exhibited by the Police Border Control Unit for their relentless effort in fighting wildlife crime. It is efforts such as the one shown by the Police Border Control Unit that will no doubt put the country’s conservation efforts back on track.