A Chinese national has been jailed for 18 months by a Kenyan court for possession of illegal ivory barely a day after last weekend’s seizure of 2 tonnes of ivory and five rhino horns destined for Malaysia, the Kenya Wildlife Service disclosed on Thursday.

This was part of two more seizures of illegal ivory from Mozambique and Uganda made at Kenya’s main airport in Nairobi in a week.

On Monday, an unaccompanied cargo of two pieces of carved and raw ivory weighing 3.3 kg from Kampala, Uganda destined for Hong Kong, China was intercepted at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

On Tuesday, the Chinese national on Kenya Airways flight was seized with a hand luggage containing 10 illegal worked ivory chopping sticks and two bangles.

He has since been charged in Nairobi’s Makadara Law Courts where he pleaded guilty of possession of wildlife trophy without a valid permit and for failure to report to Kenya Wildlife.

KWS communication officer, Paul Udoto told reporters in Nairobi that he was jailed 18 months jail on Tuesday without the option of a fine for the first count and fined 10,000 shillings ($125) or 12 months imprisonment for the second count.

Kenya Wildlife Service and regional wildlife group Lusaka Agreement Task Force are in the process of contacting the Uganda Wildlife Authorities to help with investigation on the source of the contraband and how it slipped through the Entebbe Airport unnoticed.

Joseph Kimani