Poachers threaten to wipe out Mara jumbos

By LEONARD KORIR

A sleek silver Land Cruiser roars through the dusty Kilgoris-Lolgorian road causing a stir among the residents who crane their necks to see the vehicle's occupants.

However, their efforts are thwarted by the vehicle’s tinted windows. They had hoped that they were tourists, but they know too well that tourists rarely use vehicles with tinted windows yet they want a clear view of the jungle and its wildlife

Residents say a similar vehicle but of different colour was spotted a fortnight ago heading towards the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

The unusual presence of these vehicles in such a remote area and their frequency recently have raised suspicion with the local community.

Investigation by some local wildlife scouts revealed that the occupants of such vehicles were the paymasters and kingpins behind the poaching of elephants.

Disguise vehicles

The use of these highly rated vehicles is indeed a form of disguise by the traders of the game trophies to ward off the police roving eyes. They use them to create an impression that they are tourists vans visiting Masai Mara.

The local scouts investigating this illegal trade say it has turned out to be a crowded field, which uses a chain of middlemen to link to the kingpins. The long chain ensures that the paymasters remain anonymous in the event the foot soldiers are arrested.

Recently, scores of elephants were found dead in the region and their tusks removed in what appears to be an emerging well organised illegal, but brisk business. Trans Mara Wildlife Scouts Association says for the last two years 26 elephants have been killed. They say 12 elephants have been killed since the beginning of this year alone.

The situation has prompted intensified regular patrols mounted by the scouts in conjunction with rangers from the Mara North Conservancy and those from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

Paul Kimeleny, the chairman of Trans Mara Wildlife Scouts Association, says the death toll is alarming considering the short time within which such killings were executed. He says if no urgent measures are taken, the elephants’ population in the Mara ecosystem would sooner be wiped out.

"Some well connected and wealthy personalities are behind the illegal trade through a chain of local middlemen who act as poachers," Kimeleny says.

To ensure that every loophole, which might expose the final beneficiaries of the trade is sealed, says Kimeleny, several middlemen are lined up along the supply chain, hence complicating any attempt to trace the real culprits.

However, sources familiar to the business disclosed to The Underworld that some known local persons were acting as the linkmen to the wealthy traders based in Nairobi. The source says these traders have spread their tentacles to the neighbouring countries of Tanzania and Uganda among other close states. Due to the risks involved in the business, the poachers own some of the most powerful firearms and communication gadgets for effectiveness.

"We are going on with our investigations aimed at unearthing the whole racket, but so far our findings have shown that there are rich people behind the whole business," says Kimeleny.

He says those engaging in the trade are using sleek vehicles to avoid suspicion by the security agencies.

Kimeleny says the Government should swing into action and investigate the menace before it gets out of hand.

He says boda boda operators have of late been facilitating the ferrying of these tusks from deep inside the forests and delivering them to middlemen. The motorcycles are a preferred mode of transport due to its ability to manoeuvre in some of the inaccessible areas due to the deplorable state of road network.

High returns

One of the boda boda operators who shared his experience in the business with The Underworld on condition of anonymity confessed that the business has changed his life for the better due to its high returns.

He says for a single errand, he can take home not less than Sh3,500, way above the normal returns of between Sh500 and Sh1,000 he gets in his usual business a day.

The investigations have also established that charcoal dealers are also used as agents in the illegal ivory business. Sources say they stash the tusks inside gunny bags before topping them with charcoal.

The bags are then loaded either into lorries or motorcycles and taken to other towns where sorting is done to remove the tusks. They are later handed to the next middlemen on the chain before finally reaching the kingpins. "This trick has for a long time worked perfectly without the security agencies noticing it," Kimeleny says.

He says they have constantly been threatened and intimidated while protecting the wildlife by the beneficiaries of the trade who perceive them as unnecessary roadblocks in their operations.

According to Sergeant Peter ole Maitai of Mara North Conservancy and Mr Joshua ole Naiguran, a warden at Mara Conservancy, some of the most affected areas where elephants killing is rampant include Endeja, Sitoka, Olosentu, Olmotonyi and Laila forest.

Naiguran says the poachers are well facilitated and are using some of the most sophisticated firearms in carrying out their operations.

In a recent incident, five poachers were nabbed by the rangers near Kichwa Tembo lodge. During the arrest, they were in possession of dangerous firearms including an AK47 and G3 rifles with 66 rounds of ammunition.

Earlier on, another poacher was apprehended by the rangers at Sitoka area and an MC16 firearm with several rounds of ammunitions recovered.

The problem comes at a time when local residents have protested over the shortage of KWS officers in the area, saying they were not equal to the task.