Makerere student arrested for monkey trafficking to DRC

Police have arrested two people for alleged illegal possession of colobus monkeys and Gaboon vipers.
The suspects include a 24-year-old student at Makerere University and a 28-year-old resident of Ndejje area of ​​Makindye division.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said the suspects were arrested last week while trafficking wildlife to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“The two men were arrested for illegal possession of 22 black and white colobus monkeys. At the time we intercepted them, 15 colobus monkeys were alive and seven were dead. We also found them with nine purely black monkeys, five of them dead and four alive, as well as seven Gabon vipers, three of them alive and four dead,” Mr Enanga said.

He explained that 31 monkeys and seven vipers from Gabon were handed over to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officials.
The living animals were released into their natural habitat, while the dead were disposed of.
The wildlife was intercepted at the Chikorongo fisheries check post on the Uganda-DRC border. The animals were packed in 15 boxes in a super personalized white and green vehicle.

The suspects are currently detained at Katwe-Kabatoro Central Police Station, Kasese District.

“The cash was transported to the DRC, where it was intended to be exported to markets in Europe and Asia for monetary gain. In the DRC, these species are also used for food purposes,” Mr. Enanga said.

He added: “We strongly condemn illegal wildlife movements due to their negative impacts, including funding of organized crime gangs, violation of biodiversity laws and public health concerns. Such activities undermine the rule of law in our country.

Mr Enanga stressed that the arrest of these individuals serves as a deterrent and aims to raise public awareness that poaching and illegal species trade are serious crimes. If convicted, the offense of illegal possession of wildlife carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

According to the Uganda Wildlife Act, 2019, a person who, without a license, takes, hunts, assaults or puts into possession of, or is found with, a protected specimen, sells, buys, transfers or accepts the transfer of a protected specimen, commits an offense and will, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not more than Sh200 million or imprisonment, or both.

The law also empowers the court to impose a fine of Sh7 million on a first-time offender or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or both. Repeat or subsequent offenders must pay a fine of Sh10 million or serve a maximum prison term of 20 years, or both.

The penalty for using weapons, traps or explosives is a fine of 100 million shillings or 10 years' imprisonment, or both. This also applies to persons who illegally prepare land for cultivation or mining purposes or to those who take, destroy, damage or degrade any object of geomorphological, archaeological, historical, cultural or scientific value.