Uganda: Chinese diplomats face ivory trafficking probe

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) – Uganda’s president has asked authorities to investigate the possible involvement of Chinese diplomats in wildlife trafficking, an allegation denied by Chinese officials, Anadolu Agency has learned.

In a May 2 letter obtained Thursday by Anadolu Agency, President Yoweri Museveni asked Irene Mulyagonga, the government Inspector general, to investigate what he called “wrongdoings in the Uganda Wildlife Authority”.

The letter names two Chinese diplomats, Li Wejin and Yinzhi, who allegedly collaborated with wildlife officials to export ivory from Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.

Museveni added that the Wildlife Authority had issued licenses to some Chinese officials for exporting pangolins, an endangered mammal sold for its meat and scales.

However, Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zhu Qiang, speaking to Anadolu Agency on the phone late Thursday, denied the allegations, saying, “All the accusations about our officials in the export of ivory are totally groundless and based on wrong findings.”

“We do not have, and have never had the two names in our embassy,” he said, adding that he would approach Uganda’s foreign minister “to set the matter straight".

Despite the embassy’s denial, an investigation is set to go forward.

-Complaints about Wildlife Authority

The probe is expected to include a 2014 case in which 1,300 kilograms of ivory confiscated by the Wildlife Authority was stolen from its stores.

Confirming the probe, Munira Ali, spokeswoman for the inspector general, told Anadolu Agency that they received the president’s letter last week.

“This is the first time we are going to investigate wildlife officials in collaboration with foreign nationals, but we have to assess the complaints first, before making the report available to the president," she said.

She added that over the years they had received a number of complaints to do with the Wildlife Authority.

“We have investigated many of them and some of their officials are in court being prosecuted for the loss of ivory.”

Abiaz Rwamwiri, communications officer of the Africa Wildlife Foundation, said that Uganda has in recent years been a major transit route for ivory trafficking.

“We have very weak laws, and traffickers know they can pay a mere $300 or face three months of imprisonment against the millions of dollars’ worth of ivory they traffic.”

According to the foundation, 35,000 elephants are killed every year in Africa for their tusks.