Manager Accused of Supplying Elephant Poisoning Chemical

  • VOA Staff

The carcass of an elephant which was killed after drinking poisoned water, lies near a water hole in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, about 840 km (522 miles) east of Harare, September 27, 2013. Zimbabwean ivory poachers have killed more than 80 elephants

The manager of a company which is said to have supplied poachers with cyanide allegedly used for poisoning to death 81 elephants in Hwange National Park, has been remanded out of custody on a $100 bail by Bulawayo magistrate Gladmore Mushove.

Elvis Ncube of Servcor Zimbabwe (Pvt) Limited is facing charges of contravening some sections of the Environment Management Act for supplying dangerous chemicals to unregistered users.

The state case is that Ncube allegedly sold three tonnes of sodium cyanide to a number of people including poachers suspected to have used it to poison elephants in Hwange National Park.

Robert Maphosa, Thabani Zondo and Dedani Tshuma have already been jailed for poisoning the elephants in search for elephant tusks being sold in lucrative Asian markets.

Four other suspected poachers will soon appear in court facing charges of using cyanide without permission.