Elephant killer jailed

2003-09-22 21:35

Kampala - A Ugandan army officer has been sentenced to 18 month's imprisonment for masterminding the killing of seven elephants in Murchison Falls National Park in north western Uganda last July with the aim of stealing ivory, army officials confirmed on Monday.

The military spokesperson based in Gulu, Lieutenant Paddy Ankunda, said 2nd Lieutenant Emmy Kisembo who was based at the park at the time was also dismissed from the army by the division court martial sitting in the northern Ugandan town of Gulu last Friday.

"This was a deliberate effort to disrupt the tourism industry and the officer is automatically dismissed from the army with disgrace," Ankunda said.

Uganda Wildlife Authority UWA officials in Kampala were pleased with the verdict. "We found carcases of six adults and an infant and the adults had no ivory, which meant they were killed for ivory," UWA public relations manager Barbra Musoke said.

- SAPA