The Department of National Parks and Wildlife has arrested four people, among them are two Zambia Air Force (ZAF) officials for illegal possession of rhino horns.
The quartet was cornered at Embassy Park Mall in Lusaka’s Chawama Township, with the contraband weighing up to 3.9 kilogrammes.
The four, all male suspects are Nefuma Taleni Stefanus a Namibian national, Masheke Mutemwa Chripine, a Zambian national, working for ZAF as flight Sergent, Mwiya Masheke, a Zambian national also working for ZAF a Captain and Martin Maimba, a Zambian national and a businessman of Lusaka.
The suspects are aged 44, 38, 34 and 37 years respectively.
They are charged with unlawful possession of a pair of rhino horns contrary to Section 130 Wildlife Act No 14 of 2015 of the Laws of Zambia and will appear in court today.
If found guilty, the suspects will serve a minimum jail sentence of between five and 25 years for first offenders.
Second and subsequent offenders get stiffer punishment.
The offence has no option of a fine.
Zambia Army Soldiers involved in ritual killings and appearing in court, ZAF officers dealing in Rhino horns and police getting drunk losing firearms…well the bucks stops at the Commander-in-Chief Edgar Lungu..never in the history of our country have the armed forced being so involved in criminal activity. Time to change the Commander-in-Chief
Looks like these are not Bembas……yabaaaaa
So long as we are putting away the poachers and not the buyers we will never go anywhere…consult the US Department of Wildlife; how the combat wildlife smuggling – they have highly trained investigators who go after the guys who fund poachers… then confisicate all their assets they can not account for.
Time to be smart!!
Masheke Mutemwa Chripine & Mwiya Masheke seem to be brothers? I smell nepotism here. What is wrong with security officers? The successful govts in Zambia have failed to promote tourism & other benefits of natural resources to Zambians. If Zambians don’t appreciate the importance of saving our nature & other uses like the way Tongas do with their livestock, then it is a problem. Tongas have long realised that their livestock can give them milk, plough fields, transport them & their goods for life rather than slaughtering them for relish or cash which will provide for them for a day only. Unless all Zambian appreciate tourism & other cash generating benefits, they will continue involving themselves in schemes aimed at aiding foreigners with smuggling of our resources in exchange for 2 pin…
Unless all Zambian appreciate tourism & other cash generating benefits, they will continue involving themselves in schemes aimed at aiding foreigners with smuggling of our resources in exchange for 2 pin (ZMW 2,000.00). All they know is that it is foreigners who know & have use for our resources & us it is just 2 pin commission & game meat.
Add Malimba Masheke to the equation