Poor ranger salaries in Zimbabwe threaten wildlife conservation

Some rangers are said to collaborate with poachers to supplement their income, leaving wildlife vulnerable

(MJ)

By Calvin Manika for Community Podium News

Low wages paid to rangers patrolling and protecting Zimbabwe’s flagship national park is leaving wildlife under increased threat from poaching investigations by Community Podium have revealed.

Rampant poaching in Hwange National Park in the country’s northwest has resulted in declines of all of the ‘Big Five’ - elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and buffaloes under unclear circumstances.

Now some game rangers, whose duty it is to protect the wildlife, are being increasingly framed as perpetrators and accomplices in poaching owing to underpayment and poor working conditions.

During patrols, the rangers allegedly kill animals, especially buffaloes and elephants, for meat to sell in nearby villages and towns.

An insider who spoke on condition of anonymity said poor working conditions have forced rangers into poaching.

“Improved conditions could reduce poaching for food and profit. Recently a ranger and police officer were arrested for illegal dealing in ivory…Staff morale is low and salary delays are prevalent due to decreased tourism as a result of the Covid restrictions’ after-effects,” he added.

Charles Moyo (not his real name), a former Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority employee stationed at Hwange National Park for years, said the biggest challenges facing rangers were armed poachers who posed a threat to life, and the rangers’ own temptations to indulge in poaching due to their employer paying them very little while they protect wildlife of high value.

Community Podium travelled to Tsholotsho, near the border with Botswana, which is a part of Hwange National Park where poaching is also rife despite Zimparks bases in the area, at Makona and Whitehilla.

Another source, One Pfende (not his real name) remarked that due to their isolation, these bases have become poaching havens for officials within the wildlife conservation system.

However, Pfende exonerated some of the Zimparks employees for their honesty in shunning corruption.

“Not everyone is involved in rogue deals or poaching. Some of the park rangers are trying their best to eke out an honest living under adverse conditions,” he said.

In 2014, two Zimparks rangers, Shepherd Mukombwe and Chrispen Tungwarara, stationed at Zambezi Camp appeared in court for violating the Parks and Wildlife Act after they skinned a bushbuck that had been run over and killed by a car, and proceeded to share the meat. They were fined US$70 (£56) each or seven weeks in jail.

The following year in 2015, five officials appeared before a Hwange magistrate court facing various charges including theft and possession of a firearm without a licence.

The officials were also found with a lion’s head and its skin. The magistrate denied them bail citing that the officials were flight risk and remanded them in custody. They were Mascot Mbabavi, a police officer stationed near Bulawayo and a member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Support Unit Delta Troop; Anymore Sikuka (37), a soldier stationed at 1.2 Infantry Battalion in Hwange; Kissmore Munsaka, a ranger; and Victoria Falls Hospital staffers, Vester Chimidzi andBuuya Sikuka.

The case was concluded five years later in 2020 and the suspects escaped a nine-month prison term after a Victoria Falls magistrate slapped them with a ZWL2400 (US$) fine each for being found in possession of a lion trophy.

In December 2015, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority carried out massive transfers and redeployments of rangers who were operating at Hwange National Park.

The then acting spokesperson, Tawanda Gotosa confirmed the action, and was quoted as referring to it as a routine transfer. However, sources privy to the matter revealed that the transfers were affected soon after then Environment, Water and Climate Minister, Oppah

Muchinguri-Kashiri, had registered her lack of confidence in park rangers after five rangers were arrested in Hwange National Park for allegedly poisoning 11 elephants with cyanide.

In 2018, a secret police operation in Dete, which is home to Hwange National Park’s Main Camp, exposed rangers who were spying for poachers. “…they would monitor deployment and movements of their colleagues and communicate them to poachers in their syndicate,” said a former ranger.

On 11 January 2020, Munashe Marumisa, a ranger, was picked at his compound at the Zimparks’ Katombora Camp on suspicion of poaching after police searched the house following a tip-off and discovered three rifles and wire snares in his house. He was suspected to be part of a group of five, including a soldier, police officer and another ranger who were arrested in November 2019 after being found in possession of firearms and various trophies from different wild animals. Marumisa pleaded not guilty to both charges claiming that police officers planted the firearms and wire snares in his house. The case is still pending at Vic Falls Court.

In April 2022, a Zimbabwe National Parks ranger at Sinamatela Camp in Hwange National Park, and a police officer stationed at the Police Support Unit barracks at Chikurubi in Harare were arrested along with an ex-police officer after they were allegedly caught selling elephant tusks in Greendale, an upmarket suburb in the capital, Harare.

Simibio Kakomo and Shepherd Musiniwa appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court where they were jointly charged with unlawful possession of elephant tusks. Detectives from CID Minerals,

Fauna and Flora Unit Harare, acting on a tip-off pretended to be buyers in order to nab the two. Both suspects pleaded not guilty and the trial continues. The detectives recovered eight pieces of ivory weighing 28.35 kilograms valued at US$4,819.50 (£3,850), equivalent to ZWL$703,574 at the time.

A visit to Hwange National Park by Community Podium revealed that some rangers were also involved in fish poaching especially at Ngwehla Dam.

“Hunting buffalo is now treated as a sport. Almost all rangers on patrol illegally hunt buffaloes as a supplement to daily relish in the bush, in homes and for sale to supplement their insufficient salaries,” Moyo said.

At one time Zimparks was forced to sell hunting licences for about 500 elephant hunts to pay salaries and meet maintenance expenses for national parks.

Game rangers are earning around ZWL$29,460 per month which translates to US$58.92 (£48) per month on the widely used parallel market.

When contacted for comment on poaching by rangers on several occasions, Zimparks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo promised to revert to this reporter but did not. He also did not answer questions sent to him. However, in a recent interview with a local publication Farawo said as an organisation Zimparks since 2017 had to think “outside the box” to meet its conversation obligations.

This article is reproduced here as part of the African Conservation Journalism Programme, funded in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe by USAID’s VukaNow: Activity. Implemented by the international conservation organisation Space for Giants, it aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate. Read the original story here: