Four demand audit of game trophies

By Lucianne Limo

Kenya: Game trophies held by the Kenya Wildlife Service and private conservancies may have found their way into the black market, a court was told yesterday.

Four petitioners now want the court to direct KWS to release records of their stockpile of trophies.

Kahindi Lekalhaile, a wildlife research scientist, Joseph Kalapata, Ezra Mdam, Jacob Tiampati and James lesaloi yesterday expressed fear that the increased poaching of elephants poses a threat to the tourism sector.

They told the court that KWS had refused to give them records of trophies in it’s custody. “More than one billion stock of trophies would be disposed of and no one would know, if the court does not intervene,” they told Justice Mumbi Ngugi.

KWS legal officer Thomas Ogola, however, told the court that the petitioners had not requested the organisation for such information.

The petitioners have named Inspector-General of Police, KWS director, National Police Service Commission and the Attorney General as respondents.

The case was certified urgent and the petitioners directed to serve the respondents.