Over the past week, the Government of Botswana has responded to circumstances under which the Botswana Defence Force killed two Namibian nationals who were found with elephant tusks along the Chobe River in the Chobe National Park.
While we have the benefit of only that information from the Botswana Government and investigations are still ongoing with a joint report due to be released by the governments of Botswana and Namibia, we want to point out that it is clear from the reports that the two Namibian men were poachers.
Not only that, they also were quite ready to kill, given that instead of surrendering when ordered to do so, they chose to shoot at the Botswana Defence soldiers.
It does not matter to us that the poachers this time around were Namibian. The fact of the matter is that even Batswana are involved in this evil business. And that should be condemned at all cost.
We implore the government to fully deploy national assets to make sure that Botswana does not degenerate into what we see happening in South Africa where hundreds of rhinos are killed to satisfy the medicinal hallucinations of some eastern nations in Asia.
We call on the Office of the President especially to make sure poaching is comprehensively dealt with. This is particularly so for poaching for commercial purposes and that one which happens in protected areas like national parks and Game Reserves.
These poachers are well organized and well equipped. They are armed to the teeth and very dangerous. History shows that some of them are former military people. Which means they are well trained in the use of firearms.
Some of them are so advanced that they even have resources to match those of some of the states. Not only do they use sophisticated guns, they also are privy to intelligence sources, not to mention the fact that they have access to some of the world’s most lucrative black markets.To fight them successfully as a country there is need for coordinated efforts.
Not long ago, the President of Botswana publicly said his government had information that these international poachers had sent their reconnaissance teams to get an appreciation of how they could best attack Botswana’s wildlife.That is a scary prospect indeed.
We call on the Botswana government to do all in its power to safeguard our national wildlife which we have gone great lengths to preserve while other countries squandered theirs.
On its own the Department of Wildlife anti poaching unit stands no chance. The Department has to be supplemented and complemented by the Botswana Defence Force, the police and the intelligence services if we are to win this ongoing war. Neighbouring countries should themselves provide sanctuary for poachers running away from Botswana.
Wild animals do not observe nor recognize political borders. They roam freely across countries.
What is important is for countries to make sure that animals are always safe regardless of which side of the border they happen to find themselves. Properly used, wildlife could be an infinite resource that could well outlast the mineral resource wealth that currently drives the economy of Botswana. It is thus important that we communicate to the outsiders that we will do all that is in our power to protect Botswana wildlife.