Pascal Achiba was on Thursday, October 20, 2022 sentenced to life imprisonment by the country’s Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court after he was convicted for the unlawful possession of protected species the state operated Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) reported in a statement.
Mr Pascal was caught with nearly 10kg of elephant ivory and therefore, was handed the country’s highest penalty ever for wildlife violations.
Achiba had earlier been arrested in January in a suburb of the capital Kampala alongside two pieces of ivory weighing 9.55kg.
The head of UWA, Sam Mwandha referred to the sentence as “a landmark achievement in the fight against illegal wildlife trade.”
The business of poaching and illicit wildlife trade is rife in Uganda where the police seize hauls of ivory, rhino horns, pangolin scales and other wildlife products.
Being a previous offender, Achiba had earlier served an 18month jail term for having four pieces of ivory, so for the above reason he bagged a life sentence for being a “habitual offender” quoting the court’s chief magistrate.
Justice was also served a man who pleaded guilty in July 2020 for killing Rafiki, a dearly loved gorilla in Uganda as he gained an 11year long jail sentence. .
