ANOTHER UWA RANGER KILLED
The remote Kidepo National Park was the scene of the latest victim of poachers violence against rangers and warden, when over the weekend yet another UWA staff was shot dead. According to information at hand aerial surveillance had established an intrusion into the park, allegedly from across the border in Southern Sudan, by poachers and when a ground patrol was dispatched to the location they were ambushed and shot at. The body of the only recently married Lt. Leopold Kyalisiima was in the meantime taken to his home in Kabale, South Western Uganda and buried with full honours.
Poaching has been on the upswing across much of sub Saharan Africa due to a strong demand for ivory and wildlife products from in particular China but also other Far Eastern countries, where legislation is poor and rarely enforce about the trading in blood ivory, skins and bones and the increased presence of Chinese workers on major projects financed by China too has been cited as a major reason for the increase in poaching, now also evident in East Africa.
Condolences are expressed to the family and friends of the late Kyalisiima, who gave his life for wildlife conservation – and it is hoped that his sacrifice will provoke yet greater resolve by UWA and the country’s security agencies to respond robustly, if not harshly, towards any future attempt to poach inside and outside our national parks.
