Seka Hussein, 38, was arrested on Sunday by the Police with 32 pieces of hippopotamus teeth that weighed 15 kilograms.
An NGO, Natural Resources Conservation Network (NRCN), has attacked unnamed top government officials who are allegedly profiteering in the trade of wildlife products and protecting poachers who are directly involved in the vices.
This follows the arrest of a man who was fund with 32 pieces of Hippopotamus teeth weighing 15 kilograms in Rubirizi district.
NRCN, UWA and Police officials who arrested the suspect believe that the man identified as Seka Hussein, 38, and a resident of Kasese Municipality is part of a bigger racket of dealers in the illegal trade in Western Uganda. Seka was arrested on Sunday Oct 23rd 2016.
NRCN deals in conservation of endangered animal species that include hippopotamus, elephants, pangolin and rhinoceros among others and it works under the supervision of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
“It is government top officials who have the money who are behind the illicit trade but they tend to use the poor people to transact the illegal animal trade on their behalf,” NRCN media Relations Officer Julius Odeke intimated to the TheUgandan on Monday.
Seka Hussein is currently being detained at Rubirizi Police Station on charges of being engaged in illegal wildlife trade as he was found in possession of protected animal species contrary to Section 75 of the Uganda Wildlife Authority Act.
According to Robinah Birungi the Officer of Crime Intelligence at Rubirizi Police station the suspect was arrested at Katunguru town as he was transporting the trophies to Kampala and he allegedly confessed that there was a businessman he did not name who was waiting for the wildlife cargo ready to transact business.
“The suspect is a businessman in Kasese District. He claims to have got the hippopotamus teeth from the Democratic of Congo-Uganda border and that he was acting as a middleman. When we are through with our investigations and we are going to take him to court,” Ms Birungi said shortly after the arrest.
The trade in wildlife products and trafficking has of recent increased and Mr. Odeke says there is need to sensitize the Ugandans on the dangers of engaging in this kind of trade that is illegal.
World over, poaching is the illegal and killing or capturing of wild animals a violation of the laws of the country like Uganda which is a signatory to protocols of protecting endangered wildlife species.
Poaching is different from hunting as hunting refers to harvesting of wildlife within the law.
