Two Village Heads from Dete, Hwange District, Matabeleland North Province, were sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for setting a class one wire snare for trapping a lion.
Elias Nyoni (51) and Zenzo Ndlovu (47) were also ordered to compensate Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management (ZimParks) an amount of US$ 20,000.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), a report was made to the Police on 17 May 2024 following suspicions that a lion might have been killed because the collar tracking signal seemed to be stationary from 12 May 2024 to 17 May 2024 when a report was made. Said the NPA:
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 illegal resettlements (Muraga) linked the accused persons to the lion. The accused persons led to the recovery of the collar tracker and a class one wire snare used to trap the lion.
The collar tracker was destroyed beyond repair. Further investigations led to the recovery of three sacks of game meat as well as 16 lion claws, and four lion teeth. The lion was valued at US$ 20,000.
Nyoni and Ndlovu pleaded guilty to the charges and they were sentenced to 12 months imprisonment of which 6 months were suspended for 5 years.
The accused persons were also ordered to compensate ZimParks an amount of US$ 20,000. The class one snares, claws, teeth and game meat were forfeited to the State.
