Uganda probes Chinese diplomats over ivory trafficking
31 May 2017
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an investigation into possible collusion between the country’s wildlife agency and two Chinese diplomats in the trafficking of ivory.
Poaching has risen sharply in recent years across Africa, fuelled by rising demand in Asia for ivory and rhino horn, coveted as a traditional medicine and a status symbol. Uganda is a major transit country for the illegal trade.
A tusk engraved with phoenixes is displayed on a carver’s lap in Hong Kong. Wildlife activists say that phasing out domestic markets is a key step in reducing demand for tusks fuelling the illegal poaching decimating Africa’s elephants. (Photo: Vincent Yu/AP)
The Chinese embassy officials are suspected of colluding in the movement of ivory from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, using Uganda as a transit point, a government official said.
Ali Munira, spokeswoman for the Inspectorate General of Government (IGG) ombudsman, did not name the Chinese diplomats but said the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) was under suspicion.
