Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania come together to combat wildlife trafficking

The regional governments has made provisions to fight the illegal wildlife trade
Shippers and transport companies have been urged to be vigilant of suspicious activities
The regional governments have made a hotline available to report smuggling activities

The wildlife-rich countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have committed to deterring wildlife trafficking.

These three countries which share a border and the famous Lake Victoria, also share a common enemy; smugglers. All three countries have noted that they need better border security, as smugglers have taken to concealing wild-life contraband in authorized container shipments.

Cargo workers and transport companies have been urged to be more vigilant of the activities in their ports and cargo terminals.

The three countries agreed on combating these illegal activities to protect the interest of legitimate wildlife businesses. The campaign began as an effort to boost the employment and revenue sector.

Details of the campaign were given during its launch. Themed, 'Join Our Team! Defend Our Wildlife' this campaign was launched in Kampala and is backed up by Wildlife Authorities from the three nations.

The director in charge of conservation at Uganda Wildlife Authority, Mr. John Makombo, spoke at the event which was held on Wednesday. He noted that a lot of the responsibility to curb the issue of wildlife trafficking falls on shippers and transport companies. He charged them to be weary and to report any suspicious activities in their ports and cargo terminals.

He also mentioned that a hotline had been made available by the governments of the three regions, for people to report wildlife crimes free of charge and anonymously. He said during the event that the Ugandan government has already put security measures in place, to make smuggling in Uganda impossible. There is zero tolerance for wildlife smuggling in Uganda.

“The killing, transferring, transporting, buying, and selling of protected animal species without a permit is punishable by life imprisonment or a punishment of up to Shs20b from the previous Shs30,000 fine for similar offences,” Mr. Makombo said.

According to, the Commissioner for Customs at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Mr. Geoffrey Balamaga the money from trafficking has been used to fuel other illegal activities including terrorism.

“Our role as customs in addition to our known role of collecting revenue and facilitating trade is to protect industries like tourism, industry, societies, and environment against this kind of criminal activities, ” Mr. Balamaga said.

Mr. Balamaga also noted that the URA has a framework in place for protecting wildlife. He said that the URA has also installed cargo scanners in six one-stop border posts of Malaba, Busia, Katuna, Mirama hills, Mutukula, and Elegu, partly to ensure that they enhance Uganda’s capacity to detect trade in these illicit activities. As a result, in three years, 7.4 tonnes of wildlife products have ceased.