Zambians sentenced for dealing in ivory
Zambians sentenced for dealing in ivory

Zambians sentenced for dealing in ivory

NAMPA
Two Zambians were jailed for dealing in elephant tusks in the Zambezi Region.

The two men appeared before Katima Mulilo Magistrate Karl Muyeghu on Friday on similar but separate charges.

Joe Mwangala Walubita, 37, was sentenced to three years, of which one was conditionally suspended.

Walubita, a taxi driver, was arrested on 19 August 2016 in the Musanga area, where he was found with eight elephant tusks valued at N$68 591.

The taxi he used to transport the tusks has been forfeited to the State.

During the trial Walubita, who conducted his own defence, maintained he was not a poacher but was merely transporting the tusks.

However, Magistrate Muyeghu said Walubita played a role in the crime as he possessed and transported the tusks for the poachers in return for payment.

“The offence is serious and prevalent. It is regulated by statute.

It cannot be ignored that dangers about the loss of elephants are detailed out on the media and hence, one has to be alive to the increasing loss of animals,” Muyeghu said during sentencing.

In a separate case, 37-year-old Kufuna Kambembe appeared before the same court, also for dealing in elephant tusks.

Muyeghu sentenced Kambembe, who hails from Sesheke in Zambia, to two years'' imprisonment after being found in possession of 14 pieces of ivory valued at N$27 962.

Kambembe was arrested on 27 August 2016 at the Wenela border post when he tried to transport the ivory across the border in a wheelbarrow.

Kambembe said he was paid N$68 (about 50 000 Zambian kwacha) by a stranger who asked him to transport the packages without revealing their content.

Magistrate Muyeghu said the trade in illicit wildlife products is feeding into the black market, which in return contributes to organised crime, and is something that citizens must be deterred from.

“The accused needs to be deterred from committing a similar offence.

“Numerous studies have been done into the effect of poaching of elephant families. In order to maintain biodiversity and the social culture of elephants, poachers need to be deterred and it can be done by the type of sentence imposed,” said Muyeghu.

NAMPA

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-14

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Six Nations: Scotland 18 vs 32 Ireland | England 26 vs 25 France | Italy 22 vs 15 Wales Premier League: Everton 2 vs 2 Liverpool Katima Mulilo: 18° | 28° Rundu: 18° | 28° Eenhana: 18° | 27° Oshakati: 19° | 27° Ruacana: 18° | 27° Tsumeb: 18° | 25° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 24° Omaruru: 19° | 29° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 19° | 22° Henties Bay: 18° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:40, High tide: 04:44, Low Tide: 22:43, High tide: 16:54 Swakopmund: 17° | 18° Wind speed: 17km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:42, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:52 Walvis Bay: 18° | 21° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:41, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:51 Rehoboth: 21° | 30° Mariental: 24° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 26° | 37° Aranos: 21° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 39° Oranjemund: 15° | 23° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 20° | 31° Lubumbashi: 17° | 21° Mbabane: 17° | 24° Maseru: 18° | 31° Antananarivo: 18° | 22° Lilongwe: 19° | 29° Maputo: 22° | 31° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 19° | 24° Durban: 21° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 30° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 19° Harare: 17° | 23° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.06 | EUR to NAD 19.25 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.35 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.21 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 134.95 | USD to AOA 912 | USD to BWP 13.83 | USD to EGP 50.59 | USD to KES 129.22 | USD to NGN 1509 | USD to ZAR 18.36 | USD to ZMW 28.15 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 88717.13 Up +1.00% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1797.63 Up +0.36% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 16452.23 Up +0.33% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29997.11 Up +1.13% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 10063.87 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 880.61/OZ DOWN -0.0173 | Copper US$ 4.63/lb DOWN -0.0255 | Zinc US$ 2 857.30/T DOWN -0.07% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.98/BBP DOWN -0.009 | Platinum US$ 1 003.32/OZ DOWN -0.0343 Sport results: Six Nations: Scotland 18 vs 32 Ireland | England 26 vs 25 France | Italy 22 vs 15 Wales Premier League: Everton 2 vs 2 Liverpool Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 28° Rundu: 18° | 28° Eenhana: 18° | 27° Oshakati: 19° | 27° Ruacana: 18° | 27° Tsumeb: 18° | 25° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 24° Omaruru: 19° | 29° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 19° | 22° Henties Bay: 18° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:40, High tide: 04:44, Low Tide: 22:43, High tide: 16:54 Swakopmund: 17° | 18° Wind speed: 17km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:42, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:52 Walvis Bay: 18° | 21° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:41, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:51 Rehoboth: 21° | 30° Mariental: 24° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 26° | 37° Aranos: 21° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 39° Oranjemund: 15° | 23° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 20° | 31° Lubumbashi: 17° | 21° Mbabane: 17° | 24° Maseru: 18° | 31° Antananarivo: 18° | 22° Lilongwe: 19° | 29° Maputo: 22° | 31° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 19° | 24° Durban: 21° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 30° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 19° Harare: 17° | 23° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.06 | EUR to NAD 19.25 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.35 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.21 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 134.95 | USD to AOA 912 | USD to BWP 13.83 | USD to EGP 50.59 | USD to KES 129.22 | USD to NGN 1509 | USD to ZAR 18.36 | USD to ZMW 28.15 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 88717.13 Up +1.00% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1797.63 Up +0.36% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 16452.23 Up +0.33% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29997.11 Up +1.13% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 10063.87 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 880.61/OZ DOWN -0.0173 | Copper US$ 4.63/lb DOWN -0.0255 | Zinc US$ 2 857.30/T DOWN -0.07% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.98/BBP DOWN -0.009 | Platinum US$ 1 003.32/OZ DOWN -0.0343