Ivory Smugglers Arrested in Nairobi

Three smugglers were early Tuesday (December 30th 2014) nabbed by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Security personnel ferrying four pieces of ivory weighing fourteen kilogrammes. 

The three were  arrested at Kayole junction along Nairobi’s kangundo road ferrying the contraband ivory on a motorbike.

The suspects were remanded at the Langata police station awaiting appearance in court to answer to charges of illegal possession and trafficking of wildlife trophy.

Meanwhile KWS security operation team in Tsavo West National Park has arrested eighteen herdsmen for illegal livestock grazing in the park. The herdsmen have been remanded at the Taita Taveta police station and are due to be aligned in court for illegal grazing in a protected area.

 Livestock incursion in Kenya’s National Parks and Reserves is one of the major threats to wildlife conservation. The livestock deplete food and water resources for wildlife and poachers take advantage of these incursions by posing as herdsmen. Besides, livestock intruding the protected areas pose the danger of spreading diseases.

2014 Conservation Heroes Day Celebrations

Kenya Wildlife Service Director General, Mr. William Kiprono
gives his speech during the 2014 Heroes Day that is commemorated on 
16th December every year to pay tribute to conservation heroes.

Environment, Water and Natural Resources Cabinet Secretary, Prof. Judi Wakhungu says her ministry acknowledges the magnitude of the challenges facing Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and other partners in conserving key species, especially rhinos and elephants.

“We are aware that wildlife security threat is a global phenomenon that has largely been driven by the high demand for ivory and rhino horn in many parts of the world. I am happy that key species poaching is now largely under control compared to past levels”, Prof. Wakhungu said during the annual KWS Heroes Day that is commemorated on every 16th of December.

In a speech read on her behalf by Conservation Secretary, Mr. Gideon Gathara at KWS headquarters in Nairobi, Prof. Wakhungu congratulate KWS rangers for the good work they are doing albeit difficult circumstances.

“I encourage you to maintain your patriotism in guarding the country’s natural heritage in the spirit of selfless service to our motherland”, Prof Wakhungu said.

She told Kenyans to remain alive to the fact that wildlife crimes particularly those involving charismatic species such as rhinos and elephants are not the only challenge facing conservation efforts.

“We are grappling with habitat loss, climate change, deforestation, invasive species in our wildlife protected areas, bio-piracy, incompatible land uses, high population growth, diseases and dwindling revenue for conservation” , She said.

The Cabinet Secretary thanked conservation partners in the wildlife sector for continued support. She cited some of the partners for special mention including United Kingdom Government, French Government through French Development Agency (AFD), USA government, German Government and its agencies, Chinese government, Canadian Government through Parks Canada, and a host of other local and international partners and the media.

In his speech, KWS Director General, William Kiprono reiterated the organisation’s unwavering support to the families of conservation heroes killed in line of duty. “I am sending an appeal to conservation partners to come forward and augment the assistance currently being extended to these families”, Mr. Kiprono said.

He thanked well wishers who have extended assistance to families of fallen heroes and singled out for special mention Germany NGO, International Foundation for Nature (NABU) for continued aid to families of departed officers.

Through a memorandum of understanding between NABU and KWS, the NGO has released 8000 Euros, which has already been disbursed to their families. NABU is also in the process of disbursing additional funding to support the families next year.

2nd Legal Standards Workshop Concludes

William M. Narus, Resident Legal Advisor -
U.S. Department of Justice - Nairobi gives his
presentation on Building a Strong Foundation for Cases. 

DNA Evidence has proved a valuable forensic tool in criminal investigations and court cases involving wildlife. Wildlife forensic science applies a range of scientific disciplines to legal cases involving non-human biological evidence. These disciplines include genetics, morphology, chemistry, pathology, and veterinary sciences. Advances in science have made it possible to use DNA analysis for the examination of evidence for a variety of legal issues involving wild animals. The resultant analysis can be used as evidence in the pursuit of criminal prosecution for the case.

Dr. Beatrice Khayota, Principal Research Scientist

 National Museums of Kenya, and Co-Chair of 

Barcode of Wildlife Project Kenya 

gives her remarks.

Due to the fact that wildlife crimes are strict liability crimes, the standard of proof is lowered compared to penal crimes because the prosecution does not have to prove the criminal intent of the accused person. In criminal cases the burden of proof for forensic evidence is the prosecution relying on the evidence meaning that all procedural aspects relating to that evidence must be followed to avoid any doubt being raised as to the credibility of that evidence.

Mr Patrick Omondi KWS Deputy Director for Species 
Conservation and Management, and Co-Chair of 
Barcode of Wildlife Project Kenya gives his remarks.

This second Legal Standards Workshop objectives were to produce revised legal standards and procedures for the collection, processing and analysis of samples for creation of the DNA Library, and come up with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be used by law enforcement officers in the collection, documentation, management and processing of samples taken from crime scenes. The workshop was planned to design sampling kits for use in collecting biological samples from crime scenes for subsequent DNA analysis, draft a curriculum for the training of Kenya Wildlife Service rangers in the use of the SOPs and sampling kits, as well as drafting a curriculum for the training of prosecutors in the use of DNA barcode evidence in prosecution of wildlife crimes.

During Legal Standards presentation.

Some of the main goals for Barcode of Wildlife Project (BWP) is to generate a reference library with over 50,000 high-quality BARCODE records, demonstrate effectiveness of the library for investigation and prosecution, and adopt and support the system long-term.

Now in Phase 3 of the project, it revolves building and testing the BARCODE Reference Library and training crime investigators, expert witnesses, prosecutors and magistrates before the final and full implementation in Phase 4.

The 1^st Legal Standards Workshop

Participants formulate SOPs to be 

used by law enforcement officers.

Barcode of wildlife Project Kenya National Project Committee held a legal standards workshop on ‘Legal Standards and Admissibility of DNA Barcode Evidence’, at Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute (KWSTI) on Monday 19^th August 2013, with participants been drawn from various agencies.

The intention of the 1^st Workshop were to clarify legal issues when collecting samples, adjustments in sampling analysis and chain of custody, stipulate action items leading to standard operation procedures (SOPs), and form working groups for the just concluding phase 2 of the project.

Ettah Muango  KWS Legal Officer
leads participants on the way forward.

It is this workshop came up with legal standards. During collection of samples, scientific standards would suffice.  The chain of custody adopted should show that the item in question is same one collected and that it should be stored in a secure place.  Chain of custody forms should be developed and used for this purpose. 

1^st Workshop noted that the biology of forensic science involves several disciplines and morphology, hence pathology and genetics can be used to identify species for purposes of creating the library. Last but not least, the forensic laboratory should be recognized under the law and forensic experts gazetted as government experts.

Kenya Hold its Second Legal Standards Training

Official opening of the training by Mr Patrick Omondi 
KWS Deputy Director for Species Conservation and Management, 
and Co-Chair of Barcode of Wildlife Project Kenya.

For the second time Kenya is holding a legal standards training that has brought together legal minds, scientists and law enforcement officers from different government agencies.

DNA evidence can be an invaluable tool for identifying and holding perpetrators accountable because it can provide critical information about the offender as well as verify the survivor’s account of what happened during the incident.

To maintain chain of custody, you must preserve evidence from the time it is collected to the time it is presented in court. To prove the chain of custody, and ultimately show that the evidence has remained intact, prosecutors generally need service providers who can testify:

•          That the evidence offered in court is the same evidence they collected or received.
•       To the time and date the evidence was received or transferred to another provider.
•        That there was no tampering with the item while it was in custody.

A presentation by Bill Clark, Chief of Interpol Wildlife Crimes unit

A challenge in proving chain of custody can arise when service providers fail to properly initial and date the evidence or fail to place a case number with it.

A sufficient chain-of-custody process, that is, one that provides sufficient evidence of sample integrity in a legal or regulatory setting, is situationally dependent.

The burden of proof

It’s the imperative on a party in a trial to produce the evidence that will shift the conclusion away from the default position to one's own position. He who does not carry the burden of proof carries the benefit of assumption, meaning he needs no evidence to support his claim. Fulfilling the burden of proof effectively captures the benefit of assumption, passing the burden of proof off to another party.

Ettah Muango KWS Legal Office gives her views on burden of proof

If there is a real doubt, based upon reason and common sense after careful and impartial consideration of all the evidence, or lack of evidence, in a case, then the level of proof has not been met. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore, is proof of such a convincing character that one would be willing to rely and act upon it without hesitation in the most important of one's own affairs. However, it does not mean an absolute certainty. The standard that must be met by the prosecution's evidence in a criminal prosecution is that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the defendant committed the crime, thereby overcoming the presumption that a person is innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Legal minds, scientists and enforcement officers discuss 

When evidence can be used in court to convict persons of crimes, it must be handled in a scrupulously careful manner to avoid later allegations of tampering or misconduct which can compromise a case of the prosecution toward acquittal or to overturning a guilty verdict upon appeal. The idea behind recording the chain of custody is to establish that the alleged evidence is in fact related to the alleged crime, rather than having, for example, been planted fraudulently to make someone appear guilty.

Chain of custody in legal contexts therefore, refers to the chronological documentation or paper trail, showing the seizure, custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of physical or electronic evidence.

Legal minds, scientists and enforcement officers discuss 

Establishing chain of custody is made of both a chronological and logical procedure, especially important when the evidence consists of fungible goods. In practice, this applies to illegal wildlife products which have been seized by law enforcement personnel. In such cases, the defendant at times disclaims any knowledge of possession of the controlled product(s) in question. Accordingly, the chain of custody documentation and testimony is presented by the prosecution to establish that the product(s) in evidence was in fact in the possession of the defendant.

Due to the fact that wildlife crimes are strict liability crimes, the standard of proof is lowered compared to penal crimes because the prosecution does not have to prove the criminal intent of the accused person. In criminal cases, the burden of proof for forensic evidence is the prosecution relying on the evidence meaning that all procedural aspects relating to that evidence must be followed to avoid any doubt being raised in the admissibility of that evidence.

Read the Kenya Defines Legal standards Forensic Evidence

National carrier (KQ) and Born Free Boost the Fight Against Rhino Poaching

Mr. Tim Oloo, Kenya Country Manager, Born Free Foundation hands over Binoculars and GPS equipment for rhino units in Nakuru and Nairobi to Mr. Julius Kimani, KWS Deputy Director Parks and Reserves . Looking on are KQ Customer Service staff.

National carrier, Kenya Airways and international wildlife charity Born Free Foundation have boosted the fight against rhino poaching in Kenya with a donation of surveillance equipment and funds for training to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

The donated equipment include tents, GPS trackers and binoculars. This is in addition to a KSh350,000 cheque that will go towards training rangers in the KWS Rhino Monitoring Team.

Speaking during the handover of the equipment and the cheque at KWS Headquarters, Kenya Airways’ Marketing Director Chris Diaz said the donation demonstrated commitment by the airline, and its partner, Born Free Foundation, to support conservation of wildlife.

“The fight against wildlife poaching requires concerted efforts from all of us. This is the reason Kenya Airways has chosen to get involved in supporting KWS to fight this vice through skills improvement and equipment,” Mr Diaz added.

On his part, the Kenya Country Manager of Born Free Foundation, Tim Oloo said: "Working together is the only way to succeed in our joint mission to protect and conserve Kenya's – and indeed the world's– wildlife heritage for future generations. Rhinos are symbolic of that heritage - an ancient species whose current plight is entirely as a result of human greed, superstition and ignorance. It is our responsibility and duty to ensure that this amazing creature is not lost on our watch. That is why, in partnership with our good friends at Kenya Airways, and as part of the “Change Brings Change” programme, we are delighted to be making this strategic contribution to the professional efforts of the dedicated KWS rhino team to enable them to carry out their live-saving job to the very best of their ability”.

The donation was received by Julius Kimani, the deputy director of KWS, who lauded the two organizations for the support.

Mr Kimani added: “This equipment and training for rangers will greatly support the conservation of rhinos, which presently face a huge threat from poachers, who are after their horns. Last year, we lost 59 rhinos to poachers; and 26 rhinos so far this year. This challenge is surmountable with this kind of support from Kenya Airways and the Born Free Foundation”.

Conservation and management strategy for black rhinos in Kenya overall goal is that black rhinos are projected to increase by at least 5% pa to reach a confirmed total of 750 rhinos by end of 2016.

In October 2013, Kenya Airways and the Born Free Foundation unveiled a new initiative to raise funds for wildlife conservation causes throughout the world dubbed ‘Change Brings Change’.

This boost comes at a time when Kenya is holding its second Legal Standards and Forensics workshop aiming to police crimes against wildlife such as poaching. Like the first training, the workshop aims to get a better understanding of the scientific processes that wildlife species' samples have to go through in order to provide a validated outcome for illegal poaching cases in court. The training is from 7th-10th December, 2014.