Two village heads from the Dete area,situated within the Hwange National Parks, have been sentenced to an effective six months and to pay compensation for the US20 000 for a lion that they trapped and killed with a wire snare.
Elias Nyoni (51) and Zenzo Ndlovu (47) were initially sentenced to 12months imprisonment but the court conditionally suspended six months for five years. The court also ordered the duo to compensate the ZimbabweParks and Wildlife Management Authority US$20 000 which was the value of the collared predator.
In a statement, the National Prosecution Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said the two men used a class one wire snare to trap the lion sometime this month.
ZimParks made a police report on May 17 when it suspected that the lion had been killed after noticing it’s collar tracking signal remained stationary between May 12 and May 17.The Police and the ZimParks authorities proceeded to the scene to locate the lion but only found the carcass of a donkey and a class one wire snare with lion fur.
Investigations carried out in the Muraga illegal resettlements linked Nyoni and Ndlovu to the crime, leading to the recovery of the collar tracker, which had been destroyed beyond repair, and a class one wire snare used to trap the lion.
Further investigations led to the recovery of three sacks of game meat,16 lion claws and four lion teeth, which were forfeited to the State.Meanwhile, the NPA said a Harare magistrate had sentenced three men from the high-density suburb of Mbare to five years in jail each for digging for coal along railway tracks.
It said Edmore Chimombe (29), Thomas Madzinga (25) and Tafadzwa Tarwirei (26) were convicted of contravening sections of the Railways Act.The charges relate to “digging, excavating, drilling, tunneling under or tempering with either side of the middle of a railway track to the actual or potential detriment of the safety of railway traffic.”
An NRZ security officer found the trio digging along the railway line near Coventry Road in Harare on May 13. They were digging for coal.The security officer stopped and apprehended the trio, and 46 kg of coal were recoved.
