Ivory cash ‘funding terrorism’

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warders stand in front of tusks recovered from poachers on January 16, 2013 at their headquarters in Nairobi. Photo/AFP

What you need to know:

  • Police are questioning a man suspected to have been involved in the slaughter of 12 elephants

Police believe proceeds of ivory are being used to fund terrorism after arresting a suspected militant with more than Sh1.5 million he reportedly obtained from the illegal trade.

Detectives in Lamu are questioning the suspect who was arrested in Mokowe on Friday for allegedly being involved in the recent killing of 12 elephants in Tsavo East National Park.

Coast police boss Aggrey Adoli claimed the suspect was trying to cross to Somalia to meet Al-Shabaab members with the loot when he was arrested.

Mr Adoli said the suspect had Kenyan documents but could not speak Swahili or English. “Detectives had trailed the suspect who is of Somali origin from Mombasa. He was arrested when he wanted to sneak into Somalia and he could be linked to the poachers who killed a family of elephants in Tsavo,” he said.

He went on: “The suspect had more than $18,500 (Sh1.5 million) and after interrogating him he said he was heading to Somalia to help his family which was captured by some militants.”

Mr Adoli said the suspect would be interrogated further before he is taken to court.

He added that they would also work with the Kenya Wildlife Service and immigration department to verify his documents.

“We have lost so many elephants in various parts of Coast region and in the country as a whole and we need to get to the bottom of this thing,” he said.

At the same time, three poachers were killed in Shimba Hills National Park on Friday afternoon while four others escaped after they tried to kill an elephant in the park.

“Rangers heard gun shots in the park before pursuing the poachers. They managed to kill three of them while four others escaped the dragnet. We suspect those at large were armed with firearms since there was a shootout in the park and we are still following them,” said KWS officer in charge Coast region Simon Gitau.

He said they rescued one elephant which was caught in a locally made trap.

Cases of poaching in Tsavo East and West National Parks have been rampant with unconfirmed reports indicating more than 40 elephants have been killed in the parks in the last nine months.

KWS rangers have been accused of colluding with poachers to carry out the illegal exercise.

In July last year, two KWS rangers were arrested for allegedly being part of the gang hunting for tusks and killing wildlife for game meat in Tsavo National Park.

Increased poaching has been blamed on the demand for ivory in Middle East and China.

Mombasa port has in many cases been used to export elephant tusks.

Recently, tusks weighing 1.6 tonnes from Kenya were impounded in Sri Lanka.

International organisations attribute the increasing cases to Kenya’s porous borders.

Poaching ban was imposed in Kenya in 1989 after the government set ablaze 12 tonnes of ivory.

The enormous challenges in protecting the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant still abound for conservationists, especially now that debate is raging on whether an international trade ban in ivory products should be lifted.

Kenya, which has witnesses massive decline in its elephant population, has over the years lobbied to save the animals.