Contraband ivory has no commercial value

I appreciate the concerns raised by PointBlank readers over the recent burning of ivory. 

First, it should be noted that the five-tonne contraband ivory that was torched by President Kibaki during the African Elephant law Enforcement Day was not Kenyan. It was illegally acquired from Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. It was seized in Singapore in 2002 and brought to Kenya in 2004 by the Lusaka Agreement Task Force for further investigations and disposal as provided for by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) regulations. As a National Implementing body of the Lusaka Agreement, the Kenya Wildlife Service provided storage for the contraband as the investigations were conducted.