Prosecution and investigation
LEAD coordinated the 1st Prosecutors, Investigators and Magistrates Wildlife Crime Workshop, held at Uukwaluudhi (north-western Namibia) on 3-8 June, and then the second and third of these workshops, at Popa Falls (north-east) on 2-6 September and !Uris Lodge near Tsumeb (centralnorth) on 4-9 November. All three workshops covered the same topics of wildlife crime.
Examples of the topics covered are Poaching Statistics in Namibia; CITES; and organised crime/syndicates in wildlife crime.
We received positive feedback from all participants, and this training also received good media coverage:
TV: One Africa TV News, 13 September 2018
Radio: NBC Radio, Main News, 14 September 2018
Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) (12/9/2018):
Allgemeine Zeitung (13/9/2018):
Namibian Sun (17/9/2018):
Other (12/9/2018):http://www.lelamobile.com/content/76871/LAC-conducts-workshop-on-wildlife-crimes
LEAD has recorded significant progress in creating a wildlife database:
– The cases of the last five years processed in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court have all been recorded.
– In October 2018, court cases in two Windhoek courts were monitored. Many postponements (mostly due to the absence of a lawyer or state witness or docket) were noted.
– In November, LEAD visited the courts in Katima Mulilo, Rundu andOkahandja, to start setting up the wildlife crime database outside of the Windhoek courts.
After these visits, the databases/lists were shared with the courts visited –i.e. with the public prosecutors, all being members of the Prosecutor-General’s Wildlife Crime Unit.
Raising awareness
In all of these training workshops and visits to courts, we provided advocacy/awareness-raising materials. This is standard practice for the LAC, as it enables efficient and effective distribution of the LAC’s own materials, and enables the LAC to reach new audiences/clients and the general public at no cost. In preparation for our advocacy on wildlife protection, LEAD approached the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture to garner support for the advocacy at schools in Zambezi Region, and the Ministry has promised this support.
