LIKE South Korea punished the Cooper Queens with five goals in each match of the back-to-back friendly recently, an illegal bushmeat trader and his customer in Mpika district, Muchinga Province, have been slapped with a five year jail sentence each.
48 year old Amos Mubanga and Jennifer Kalulu, 40, both of Machende village in Kanchibiya have been imprisoned for the illegal possesion of Sitatunga meat, which is sometimes called the Marshbuck.
It is reported that after Mubanga was arrested on the March 31, 2023 at his home for the illegal possession of 15 kilogrammes of Sitatunga meat, he led a team of officers from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to his customer.
It was discovered that Kalulu was the customer who could not resist the taste of illegal bushmeat and did not show any sympathy to the animals, despite her surname.
Kalulu was also found in possession of 1.5 kilogrammes of Sitatunga meat at her house on the fateful day, which she had bought from Mubanga for consumption.
The two appeared before the court separately and pleaded guilty.
Mpika magistrate Musonda Chisha convicted and sentenced Mubanga to five years imprisonment, while magistrate John Phiri convicted and sentenced Kalulu to the same jail time.
The court took into consideration the fact that the duo were first offenders.
Buying of illegal bushmeat is an offence under the Zambia wildlife Act and a consumer who buys illegal bushmeat faces arrest with jail sentence of up to seven years.
By Moses Makwaya
Kalemba April 14, 2023
