Conviction of Feisal Mohammed Ali

The African Wildlife Foundation is elated with the landmark court ruling in which Feisal Mohammed Ali, the godfather of illegal ivory trade was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

The ruling in the country’s largest ivory trafficking case signifies Kenya’s commitment in dealing firmly with all forms of transnational organized crimes through enacting strict and punitive legislation for wildlife crime prosecution regardless of the party, status, nationality or relationship of criminals involved. It is an affirmation of African nations in implementing moratoriums on the ivory trade that send unambiguous messages about trade during the poaching crisis and an audible African voice for saving the continent’s iconic species from imminent extinction.

“Kenya is moving toward a zero tolerance approach to wildlife crime and has stepped up anti-poaching efforts by the Kenya Wildlife Service and its conservation partners to reduce elephant poaching over the past several years, ” said Kaddu Sebunya, President of the African Wildlife Foundation. Mr. Sebunya added that strengthening legal mechanisms that ensure zero-tolerance to wildlife poaching and trafficking will ensure African elephants endure forever.

The verdict comes hot on the heels of the just concluded Regional Wildlife Prosecutorial and Judicial Conference held at the African Wildlife Foundation. The conference convened wildlife crime prosecutors, wildlife crime investigators, wildlife management officers and judicial officers from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania whose theme was ‘Combatting Transnational Wildlife Crime in Eastern Africa.’