Four policemen in court over possession of elephant tusk

Four administration police officers were on Tuesday arraigned in a Kibera court and charged with being in possession of a wildlife trophy.

The four were arrested at Nairobi West Shopping Centre on Monday evening after they were caught trying to sell one raw elephant tusk weighing 5 kilograms.

The suspects, AP Constable Peter Kuria Kimungi, Constable Martin M. Marangu, AP Corporal Francis K. Karanja and AP Corporal Stephen Chege Ngawai were caught in the act in a government-owned vehicle.

Kimungi is attached to a former Cabinet minister’s security detail, Marangu is attached to a Principal Secretary, Karanja is attached to a Cabinet Secretary as a driver while Ngawai is attached to a principal secretary.

In a statement, the Kenya Wildlife Service said it continues to work with the National Police Service and other security agencies in dealing firmly and without prejudice with cases of government officials involved in illegal activities.

The KWS has been vocal about protecting endangered species, with celebrities, among them Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong’o and Tanzanian Musician Ali Kiba, saying there is need to devalue ivory products.

“I ask the world to end the current elephant poaching crisis by being ‘Ivory Free’. It is time to ban sales of ivory worldwide and to consign the tragedy of the ivory trade to history,” said Lupita, who is the Global Elephant Ambassador.

“I learnt that every 15 minutes an elephant is poached, the situation is grim. We need to support anti-poaching by reporting wildlife crime,” she added.

Lupita was speaking when she visited Kenya in June 2015.

Across Africa, an estimated 33,000 elephants are killed annually for their ivory.

The biggest threats to Kenya’s elephants are poaching and loss of habitat.

Additional reporting by Agnes Oloo