Trust Freddy-Herald Correspondent
INVESTIGATORS and prosecutors face strict new case-building standards and tighter oversight under a nationwide legal overhaul aimed at closing procedural loopholes that enabled wildlife traffickers to escape conviction.
The new standards were unveiled yesterday by Prosecutor-General Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo at the launch of “A Review of Wildlife Criminal Law & Wildlife Court Judgments in Zimbabwe (Volume One)” in Harare.
The publication, jointly produced by the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe and Tikki Hywood Foundation, audits wildlife judgments from 2021 to 2024 across Hwange, Beitbridge, Chiredzi, Chinhoyi, Bulawayo and Harare.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said case collapses showed why meticulous investigations were now mandatory.
“We see how poor evidence gathering, failure to obtain CCTV footage, failure to secure witnesses at a public arrest led to an acquittal,” she said.
She said prosecutors had to ensure proper application of the law citing misapplication of Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act regarding confessions against co-accused persons.
“Sound charging decisions, meticulous evidence gathering, and principled sentencing advocacy are not optional; they are your professional duty,” she said.
She also was concerned with lower court judicial officers issuing unlawful, lenient sentences to wildlife criminals, warning that the criminal justice system will no longer tolerate magistrate errors that let syndicate operatives off the hook.
Justice Matanda-Moyo pointed to a case where community service was imposed for possession of pangolins despite mandatory minimum sentences.
“This is not judicial discretion it is a judicial error that must be corrected,” she said.
She, however, praised progressive decisions such as one where it was established that live pangolins need not be physically produced in court where expert evidence establishes species identity.
“This is not mere legal technicality it is a matter of animal welfare, public health and practical justice.,”
Tikki Hywood Foundation founder and chief executive Ms Lisa Hywood said the review harmonised interpretation of wildlife laws and ensures good evidence gathered in the bush translates into unassailable dockets in court.
“This Review gives us a unified understanding of our wildlife criminal laws, which until now have too often been interpreted inconsistently depending on the court or jurisdiction,” Ms Hywood said.
Meanwhile, the NPAZ has approached Parliament for reforms to redefine “possession” under the Parks and Wildlife Act, clarify restitution and compensation provisions and strengthen anti-corruption measures in wildlife law enforcement.
Source: New standards in place to fight wildlife crime – herald
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