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{
    "id": 358136,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/358136/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 69,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "of trading in ivory stock. In addition, our conservancies, the private and public conservancies lack the capacity to effectively handle poachers, particularly armed gangs and criminal networks. In this region also there is proliferation of small firearms which are highly abundant in the black markets. There are major impacts at our economy and to all fabrics of our nation. The major impact is the environmental and conservation cost. This is loss of key wildlife species, as well as general environmental degradation. In terms of economic cost, it will reduce revenues, from reduced taxes, fees as well as tourism earnings. In addition, it will generally reduce economic growth due to unreduced livelihood options and as well as reduce economic potential of this great nation. Hon. Deputy Speaker, poaching is also threatening security due to the armed nature of poaching and financing of criminal groups which are inter-racial in nature. Poaching also leads to an entrenchment of dangerous trans-national organized crime networks similar to drug cartels which are other terrorist networks. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the major problem is our laws. Cap.376 is actually facilitating poaching; it is an archaic legislation which cannot deter poaching at all. For example, there is a case recently where a Vietnamese en-route to Bangkok was arrested on 7th April of this year at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) here in Nairobi. The case was heard at Makadara Law Courts; the accused arrived from Benin on his way to Bangkok on Kenya Airways. The ivory he was carrying weighed 33.6 kilogrammes and was assessed by our experts at Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and it was found to be worth Kshs5.7 million. The ivory was concealed in a flower vessel, a clear indication that the fellow knew what he was doing was illegal. Hon. Deputy Speaker, the lawyer of the accused argued that the guy had no idea of what he was doing and was merely a tourist. The fellow was carrying ivory worth Kshs5.7 million. The man was made to look like somebody who had no idea and that he was a tourist on transit. Our law does not really deter poaching in any way. The accused was treated like a very innocent child; a traveller and a victim due to poor policies of this nation. This illogical line of argument even swayed our magistrate to a level whereby he argued that since the ivory was not bought in this country, it was not a Kenyan problem. Since the law in this country does not take into account the origin of that ivory, the accused actually got away with that crime. The accused who admitted to the crime was only fined Kshs40,000 while the ivory he was carrying was worth Kshs5.7 million, according to experts from KWS. This is why it is so critical for us to amend that law, I have already done the amendment to Cap.626 with the assistance of the legal department and I hope this House will pass it because this is one major fix we can do right away to curb poaching. Hon. Deputy Speaker, there is a problem where KWS, which is the main organ responsible for safeguarding or who are the real stewards of wildlife; some of the employees are said to engage in the trade and are in accomplice with the poachers. There are cases where some of them have been arrested, arraigned in court and some have actually been fired from the service. Also those registered with private wildlife conservations are linked to poaching of elephants and rhinos; these are wildlife sanctuaries."
}