By Laban Muhindo
KAMPALA, Uganda – Friday 6th May 2016: Natural Resource Conservation Network (NRCN) wildlife law enforcement team together with Uganda Police on Tuesday midday arrested Deus Mugisha with 40kgs of mature hippo ivory at Kayanzi Landing site and Fishing Village.
The suspect is currently detained at Kasese Police division awaiting prosecution. Deus, 40 years now is a resident of Mbarara District. Reports indicate that he has always played the role of a middleman because he has been connected to various renowned traffickers from Congo, looking for serious buyers on routine basis.
According to police intelligence so far gathered, the vice has been moving on for decades and has led to the killing of thousands of Hippos in the areas of Kasese. The population of Hippos in Uganda is not known as they are found in many parts of the country.
Hippos are under part B (cap 198) under the game and preservation control of 1959 and are not be hunted or captured accept under special permits, however their population has drastically decreased and are now listed in appendix1 by CITES (Convention on International Trade of wild Fauna and Flora).Hippo teeth or Ivory, Pangolin scales are also used as substitutes of Elephant Ivory.
Hippos are hunted aggressively in Uganda and in neighboring countries which has endangered their populations over time. To issue a permit, the exporting country must determine that this activity will have no detriment to the wild population. Insatiable demand for Hippo ivory from East and Southeast Asia (particularly from China and Vietnam) has been the primary factor leading to the demise of their populations.
Muhindo Laban is Media Assistant, Natural Resource Conservation Network. He can also be reached on 0773-080844, 0701-583161 labanm1986@gmail.com