By Staff Writer in Babati
After being found guilty of hunting giraffes and unlawfully selling their meat, Amos Benard Mtinange, also known as Major, was sentenced to 23 years in prison by the Resident Magistrate's Court of the Babati district in the Manyara region.
Major was arrested on April 21, 2022, at 5:00 p.m., in Vilima vitatu village ,within the Burunge Wildlife Management Area in Babati district, Manyara region.
This was followed a lengthy investigation of the ChemChem Association Rangers.
The Wildlife Management Authority (WMA) forces, the police, the Burunge WMA Rangers, and the Rangers of the Chem Chem Association—which has invested in local tourism—set up a trap that led to his arrest.
The resident magistrate of Babati district court in the Manyara region, Victor Kimario said that the court had found Major guilty after discovering proof to support the assumption that he had engaged in giraffe poaching.
He said that the court had sentenced him 23 years in prison Jail in order to put an end to poaching incidences in the Nation.
Major asked the court to lessen his punishment prior to the sentence because he is solely responsible for caring for his family.
Prosecutors, Government Attorneys Benedict Mapunda and Getrude Kariongi and Shahidu Kajwagya of the Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA), however, were against the accused's sentence being reduced.
Attorney Kariongi stated that the accused is being tried for economic sabotage and that for a long time he has been killing giraffes, which are not only a popular tourist attraction in the nation but also provide cash for the government.
According to him, wildlife helps generate foreign exchange, and bananas help generate funding for government initiatives like building schools and paying for healthcare, among other things.
Speaking to reporters following the ruling, in Babati district stakeholders in the tourism and conservation fields appreciated the court's ruling.
Conservationist Lazaro Peter claimed that because of unlawful killing giraffes , the giraffe meat trade had grown in the Babati district and that they now hope it would cease.
There are many giraffes in the Burunge WMA area, and it's now simple for poachers to hunt them and sell their meat. Major was one of them.
Clever Zulu, the manager of Chem Chem Association, an investor in the area, stated that the Rangers were responsible for the accused's arrest and conviction.
According to Zulu, the Rangers underwent specialized training from TAWA officials and the police force on how to investigate, search, and arrest poachers prior to the successful arrest of poachers in the area.
"This is a great success for us in protecting resources, we congratulate the Rangers for showing efficiency after training" added
According to Zulu, the Chem Chem Association will keep providing funding to combat poaching in the Burunge WMA area. The organization now spends more than 400 million shs annually on this effort.
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