Mozambican Court Hands Poachers Heavy Sentence

A judge in Mozambique has given 11 men convicted of poaching a sentence of 16 years each, after they were caught in the famous Gorongosa National Park, in the heart of central Mozambique.

Judge Martinho Cheguere said the sentence was designed to deter others from potentially carrying out similar acts, hoping they would “abandon” any ambitions of poaching.

Cheguere ruled the defendants had acted “against the Mozambique government’s efforts to protect the environment.

“We concluded that the park is the lung for conservation, so the action of these individuals is an organised crime”, he said.

The defendants were among 12 detained whilst hunting in the park, though one subsequently died whilst in custody.

Another of the poachers failed to show up at court having been granted bail, but was shortly detained and sentenced along with his co-defendants.

In addition to the jail time they will have to serve, the poachers were ordered to pay 5% of their minimum earning for the last three months.

Their original sentence of 20 years was reduced after they all submitted a guilty plea.

Their defence lawyer, Tania Joaquim, said she intends to appeal the judgement, believing the sentences to be excessive, especially in light of the fact they confessed.

Mozambique’s wildlife population was decimated during its bloody civil war. 

Between 1975-1992 over one million people were killed, whilst big game were routinely hunted and sold in exchange for weapons and ammunition.