The ManicaPost
Freedom Mutanda Post Correspondent
TWO Chipinge brothers, Lovemore and Clemence Sithole, from Charuma Village under Chief Mutema were arrested after being trapped by police and National Parks officials while looking for buyers of elephant tasks.The matter is now being investigated by the Chipinge Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under case number CR 34-10-18. Police sources privy to the developments told The Manica Post that sometime last year, an elephant was shot in the Manesa area and fled the scene.
It apparently died far away from the scene of the shooting.
The two brothers allegedly came across the dead elephant when they had gone to check on their bee hives.
“Lovemore Sithole was the first to see the dead elephant, which had been shot days earlier and was at an advanced stage of decomposition.
“The two removed the tusks and buried them,” said the source.
Elephants from the Save Conservancy regularly cross the Save River and trample upon crops in Manesa, Charuma, Middle Sabi and Chibuwe areas,” said the police source.
The two went to South Africa and returned this year. Last week, parks officials received a tip-off from members of the public that the duo had elephant tusks that they were selling and a combined operation with the police was launched and netted the culprits.
“The police and the parks officers in plain clothes posed as buyers and the brothers duly produced the tusks and were promptly arrested,” added the source.
The duo had also assigned three other men to look for buyers separately.
The five are now being charged for contravening Section 82(i) of the Parks and Wildlife Act Chapter 20 which criminalises being found in possession of elephant tusks. Efforts to get a comment from the National Parks were fruitless.
Any member of the public who comes across dead elephants is obliged to immediately inform parks officials or the police.
