Illegal Ivory Dealer Jailed For Two Years (Zimbabwe)
Christinah Motlhabane, The Voice
November 19, 2021
See link
https://news.thevoicebw.com/2021/11/illegal-ivory-dealer-jailed-for-two-years/
for photo.
A sense of remorse and a convincing mitigation statement have saved a
convicted ivory dealer from a lengthy jail term as he got off lightly with
a reduced sentence.
Poul Garirayi would have been condemned to a mandatory 10-year maximum jail
term and a hefty fine for the elephant tusks valued at P10 233.22 that he
was found in possession of.
But his witty admission of guilt that saved the court’s time and his
mitigatory circumstances, compelled a Francistown Magistrate’s Court to
temper justice with mercy by giving the 49-year-old Zimbabwean man a lesser
2-year prison sentence that has been backdated to August 2021 when he was
arrested.
Before he was sentenced, Garirayi pleaded with court for leniency as he
said he was the sole breadwinner looking after his three children and his
elderly mother.
“Looking at my age, I am vulnerable in the current prison condition as it
is congested, so I fear that I might contract Covid-19. I am a first
offender, I have never had any brushes with the law so I plead for your
leniency, your worship,” he said.
It was business unusual for Garirayi on the day of his arrest as he played
right into the snare of police officers who were acting on a tip-off.
He had been looking for a buyer for his prized pieces when he met a
motorist who agreed to transport him to a point of sale.
His dream for a quick buck quickly turned into a nightmare as, unbeknown to
him, the motorist tipped the police off about the elephant tusks.
An operation was set up to arrest Garirayi and the police followed on the
information and found him at Sunshine Plaza.
Before they could lift their fingers to search him, the startled Garirayi
began to sing like a canary. He told the police he had in his possession
the elephant tusks and that he had asked someone to transport him to the
point of sale.
The police quickly searched him and they found five pieces of elephant
tusks in the combi he was using.
The tusks were taken to Botswana Bureau of Standards for weights and
measurement and they weighed 5.4 kilograms, which was valued at P10 233.22.
Garirayi was also charged with entering Botswana through an ungazetted
point of entry.
It was heard that sometime in 2010, exact dates not known to the
prosecution, the accused person entered Botswana illegally.
For entering the country unlawfully, he was sentenced to one year in
prison, taking into account the time he spent behind bars.
Both sentences are to run concurrently.
https://news.thevoicebw.com/2021/11/illegal-ivory-dealer-jailed-for-two-years/