Uganda: Man Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Over Illegal Possession of Ivory

Bill Oxford/Unsplash
Judge's gavel (file photo).
23 October 2022
The Independent (Kampala)

Kampala — Court has sentenced a man to life in prison after he was found guilty of illegal possession of ivory.

Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said Pascal Ochiba, was found guilty of possession of two pieces of ivory weighing 9.5 kg without a wildlife use right.

Offenses of unlawful possession of protected species are rampant and there is a need to curb them, UWA quoted Chief Magistrate of the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court Gladys Kamasanyu as saying.

Kamasanyu said Ochiba was a habitual offender having been charged in 2017 with two counts of unlawful possession of protected species and charged by the same court. She said Ochiba deserved a sentence that will contribute to making the world a safer place for wildlife and humans.

UWA described the sentence as a landmark achievement in the fight against illegal wildlife trade.

In April last year, a court in Uganda also charged two police officers over the illegal possession of elephant tusks, weighing 23 kg.

Read the original article on Independent (Kampala).

Tagged:
Copyright © 2022 The Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.