Malawi, on Monday, demonstrated to the world that it does not condone ivory trade by burning 781 pieces of ivory that were illegally brought into the country but confiscated in 2013 at a road block that was set by the Malawi Revenue Authority in Rumphi.
This ivory was found with two brothers Patrick and Chancy Kaunda as they transported the trophies into Malawi from Tanzania. They were convicted by the High Court in Mzuzu and charged to pay K5 million or spend seven years in jail. They paid the fine.
The burning of the ivory which took place at Mzuzu Sanctuary follows a High Court order in Mzuzu made on March 2, 2016 that directed government to burn the ivory on March 14, 2016 at 09:00 hours after quashing Tanzania’s interest to have ivory from its elephants back to the country.
The burning of the ivory was also in compliance with the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) which bars ivory trade at any level.
The 781 pieces comprised ivory from elephants from Tanzania and Mozambique. Tanzania stopped Malawi from burning the ivory in September 2015 through a court injunction. Tanzania wanted to take back that ivory that came from its elephants but the High Court in Mzuzu threw out Tanzania’s arguments on March 2, 2016.
Judiciary, Police and Parks and Wildlife jointly set ablaze the ivory amid tight security around the site. The ceremony also attracted international media.
Director of Parks and Wildlife Brighton Kumchedwa said in an interview that the burning of the ivory meant that Malawi, just like all other countries in the world, reiterates that there is no legal market for ivory.
Kumchedwa said there was no economic value to the burnt ivory as there is no legal market for the pieces. But, he said, if sold at the black market, the 781 pieces could fetch more than K4 billion.
“There is an international law that bars any international trade in ivory. So, what we are saying is that people should not be engaged in ivory trade. So, we are saying no to ivory trade,” said Kumchedwa.
Government is also keeping other pieces of ivory, about 600 of them, and Kumchedwa said government was forced to give room for debate on whether to sell or burn them.
Last week, Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Bright Msaka, said Malawians need to debate on what should be done with ivory that is confiscated as opposed to just burning it.
In September last year, Malawi expressed disappointment over Tanzania’s court injunction which stopped the burning of the ivory because it came at the eleventh hour when all was set for the burning.
“It is unfortunate that these guys had to come at the eleventh hour. The court concluded the ivory case on 28 July and ordered us to confiscate the ivory within 20 days by burning them. We informed both countries Mozambique and Tanzania about the court order and in case they would be aggrieved by the order.
“Mozambique acknowledged receipt of the communication. Tanzania took a while and responded in August and asked for variation of the order. Since then they kept quiet until yesterday, as we travelled to Mzuzu to burn the ivory in compliance with the court order today, when we got information that they had sent a lawyer to ask for further extension.
“They say they want to take their pieces of ivory to be evidence in court as there are some culprits who are answering charges. But according to the DNA, we only know that the elephants were from Tanzania and Mozambique and we cannot determine which ivory is from Tanzania. We cannot determine ownership. We do not know how much is theirs,” said Kumchedwa
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