Tanzania: 11 death sentences after killing elephant protector

He devoted his life to the wild nature of Africa. Eleven people were sentenced to death on Friday by a court in the East African nation of Tanzania for the August 2017 murder of prominent environmental activist Wayne Lotter. A 51-year-old South African, he lived and worked in Tanzania, where he devoted himself to fighting elephant poaching. He was gunned down in the economic capital of Dar es Salaam.

The exact motives of the authors have not been established, but his colleagues believe that Lotter paid with his life for his fight to protect the elephants. During the announcement of the verdict, Judge Laila Mgonya said that the trial had “corroborated beyond reasonable doubt” the charges against the eleven defendants, including two Burundian citizens.

“Some of the suspects, in their statements recorded by the police, confessed to participation in the preparatory meetings and to the murder,” she emphasized, adding that 32 witnesses also confirmed the charges. “The evidence presented was strong enough to convict them,” she said. Death sentences are not uncommon in Tanzania, but they are usually commuted to life imprisonment. The last execution dates back to 1994.

The local press recalls this Friday the decision of the High Court of Tanzania. East Africa reports that the judge “confirmed that the convicts can appeal this decision” and that 11 convicts were sent to prison after the verdict was announced.

One of the countries most affected by poaching

Up to 22 people have been charged with planning or carrying out the murder of Lotter, co-founder of the Tanzanian branch of the Pams (Protected Area Management Solutions) conservation fund. The prosecutor’s office dropped the charges against four people, seven more people were released by the court at previous meetings.

Tanzania is one of the countries with the largest elephant population on the African continent. It is also one of the most affected by poaching. According to official data, the population of pachyderms here decreased by 60% from 2009 to 2014. Then it rose again from 43,000 in 2014 to 60,000 in 2018, thanks also to the efforts of the authorities, who created units specializing in the fight against poaching.