BULAWAYO mayor Martin Moyo yesterday endorsed professional game guide Sam Nkomo’s 21-day 500km rhino awareness walk set to start on September 14.
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Speaking at a function hosted by accounting and auditing firm Ernest and Young, Moyo said he would engage the parks and wildlife department of the Bulawayo City Council to get involved and support the walk from Rhodes’ grave in the Matopos National Park to Victoria Falls.
“As environmentalists, these are some of the issues we need to attend to. We need to conserve the environment which is an integral part of the ecosystem and not pick up negative environmental habits,” he said.
“If we do not disturb nature, it has a way of taking care of itself.”
According to the chairperson of the Rhino Awareness Campaign, Gail Amyot, the walk would be important in educating people along the way on the importance of wildlife and motivating them to report poaching and other criminal activities to police.
“We are hoping through the walk that the community will take ownership of wildlife and other resources and help apprehend poachers who seek to destroy these animals,” Amyot said.
Nkomo, who received the Order of Mendi for Bravery in Silver award on July 27 2003 from the South African president Thabo Mbeki for saving tourists’ lives, told Southern Eye yesterday that the walk started as an idea after more than 300 elephants and countless other animals were killed by cyanide poisoning last year.
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Nkomo said he was inspired by his friend Justus Nyami who held a similar walk under the theme “Ivory belongs to elephants” last year.
“I was moved when I saw headlines about the animals that were killed last year and decided to do something about it,” he said.
“My friend had a successful walk and I believe we can stage a similar walk to prevent poisoning of wildlife.”
