Three men from Hwange, Pharaoh Chuma (32), Conrad Ncube (30), and Nesbert Siziba (30), were sentenced to a one-year jail term each for poaching a warthog in Sinamatela National Park.
The trio appeared before a Hwange Magistrate on charges of contravening the Parks and Wildlife Act.
According to court papers, on July 12 this year, rangers from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority were on routine patrol in the national park when they noticed a suspicious spoor.
They tracked it for three kilometres and found the trio in possession of a warthog carcass, a spear, and two axes. When Chuma and his accomplices saw the rangers, they ran away, but Chuma was apprehended.
The other two were later arrested, and the warthog carcass, spear, and axes were recovered.
The trio will spend six months in jail, after which they will be released on condition of good behaviour. As part of their sentence, they will also perform 210 hours each of community service.
The warthog was valued at US$1 000, making it a significant loss to the country’s wildlife resources.
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