PROFESSIONAL game guide Samuel Nkomo will on November 28 embark on a 48-kilometre walk from Matopos to Bulawayo to raise awareness against poisoning of elephants in Hwange.
By NONHLANHLA SIBANDA
The two-day walk from Granite Ridge Farm to Gifford High School comes just after a year since Nkomo undertook the September epic 500km walk from Matopos National Park to Victoria Falls to promote wildlife conservation.
A group of elephants, believed to have been killed by poachers, lie dead at a watering hole in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park October 26, 2015. Picture taken October 26, 2015.
Nkomo, the brains behind the Elephant and Rhino Awareness Campaign Walk, told Southern Eye he wanted to raise funds to establish a canine base of operations in Zimbabwe to provide support to National Parks, police, Forestry Commission, as well as conservancies dealing with poaching issues.
“These canine teams will be trained at a central location where kennels are under construction and with the dog trainer already living on site. They will be deployed into different areas to detect illegal wildlife hunters and provide support in the apprehension of poachers,” he said.
Nkomo said highly organised syndicates were behind poaching. He said while the poacher “on the ground” was responsible for the dirty work, somewhere much higher up the chain was a criminal gang, “very literally calling the shots”.
“This makes convicting poaching offences harder, and means that killing a poacher will achieve very little in terms of reducing the number of poaching incidents. Syndicates can easily find another person willing to take the risk and shoot a rhino,” he said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Nkomo will during his walk take time to educate children about the importance of wildlife in schools along his route.
The initial 500km Elephant and Rhino Awareness Walk reached out to about 15 000 schoolchildren.
The walk is expected to start on November 28 and completed the following day.
Nkomo said ordinary Zimbabweans can support the cause by walking with him for short distances to make the project worthwhile and help raise awareness about the environment.
Various stakeholders have pledged their support including the Mayor of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North director of Education, Forestry Commission regional manager, National Parks regional manager, ZRP Dog Section Roses Camp and several schools around Bulawayo.
