Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls

A TSHOLOTSHO man has been jailed nine years for illegally possessing ivory after the magistrate dismissed his claim that he was an inyanga who had wanted to use the tusks for some rituals.

Toni Maphosa (34) claimed that he picked the two pieces of ivory in a bush.

He pleaded guilty to poaching when he appeared before Hwange magistrate in charge Mrs Rose Dube.

In court, Maphosa was accused of possessing the ivory only and was not linked to the death of over 100 elephants as previously reported.

“I picked the ivory in the bush and was keeping it because I wanted to use it since I am a traditional healer,” Maphosa told the magistrate.

In mitigation, he begged the court to give him the option to pay a fine saying he had money and looked shocked when the magistrate sentenced him to an effective mandatory nine years in jail.

Prosecuting, Ms Loveness Maseko said the ivory weighed 765 grammes.

“An anti-poaching team comprising rangers from Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority received a tip off that the accused was in possession of ivory and responded to the call.

“The accused was then found with two pieces of ivory but could not produce a licence authorising him to have them,” said the prosecutor.

Upon his arrest, the court heard, Maphosa said he had picked the pieces in the bush and was keeping them so he could clean them for traditional healing.

Some of the poachers have been taken to court and convicted.

Recently, two people were jailed for nine years each for illegally possessing three pieces of ivory valued at $900 and 270 grammes of cyanide.

David Ndlovu (42) and Nkathazo Penga (33) confessed to killing five jumbos by lacing oranges with the deadly cyanide when they were arrested on July 4 at Cross Dete where they were selling the [email protected]