Man arrested feeding on a Giraffe and Zebra
A poacher who was found with five peaces of elephant tusks while feeding on some Giraffe and Zebra meat has been slapped with a life sentence by a Kibera court.
Antony Ngila Masaku alias Mose was sentenced by Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Samson Temu who noted that the accused person’s behaviour endangered the existence of elephant species in the country.
Masaku had been accused of possesing Four pieces of Elephant tusks weighing Five Kilograms and Worth Sh500,000 contrary to the wildlife conservation’s act.
Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Samson Temu also during the sentencing said that the offence committed was serious and the evidence was overwhelming.
” The Evidence alluded to in court is overwhelming and the prosecution has successfully proved its case against the accused person. The court has considered both the prosecution, the defense, and the mitigation submitted by the accused person and he is hereby sentenced to serve life imprisonment or pay an alternative fine of Sh 30 million” Said Temu.
The magistrate allowed him 14 days to appeal if he wished to do so.
In the case, Masaku alias Mose had been charged with the offense of poaching contrary to the law.
The court heard that, on July 20, 2019 at around 1530hours at Lafamiliar building house No.B4 in Tala shopping centre within Machakos County was found with four pieces of elephant tusk weighing 5kg worth Sh500,000 inside a purple career bag.
He was also charged with the second count of dealing with endangered species contrary to the law.
Court prosecutor Samson Ng’etich called several witnesses who testified in court in the case.
While testifying in court, a KWS officer said that she was called by her senior and ordered to go to the crime scene where the accused person had been spotted . The detective alongside others tricked the accused person to a building in Tala house where he was arrested with the said tusks which he intended to sale to them at a cost of Sh 500,000.
” My boss who was at the Headquarters called me and told me that there was a man in the Tala shopping centre who had been spotted with some wildlife trophies and he was looking for a potential buyer. On arriving at Tala shopping center, I got other officers and we tricked the accused person who took us to a certain house for us to negotiate on its prices,” a detective told the court.
She added that, after arresting the accused person they escorted him to his house where a search was done and more wildlife products were found.
” We took him to his house for further interrogations and upon arrival we found that he had fed on some Zebra and a Girraffes meat and he had some Hippotomus incisors,” she told the court.
Another witness, told the court that he took the photos of the said exhibit. He provided the said photos in court.
The investigating officer in the matter and the Government expert from the National Museum also testified in court.
The magistrate in his Sentencing noted that there was no doubt that the accused person was a poacher.
Ironically, the accused person in his defence told the court that he was a hunter and used to hunt and kill wild animals since his childhood.
” I used to be a hunter when I was young, we could feed on wildlife products because of my background, i also come from a polygamous family, my wife dumped me and I have been struggling to raise my kids,” he told the court in his defence.
He also told the court that the police harassed him during the time of arrest.
” They took me to my house, pushed the door, and ordered me to lie down, by then they had handcuffed me,” he said.
He told the court that the officers from the KWS lacked a search warrant from the court by the time they inspected his house.
The court however dismissed his defence and said that they were insufficient
