Bekou Leonard is a renown poacher. In October 2018, Bekou hired one weapon (type FSA) at XAF 25,000 (twenty-five thousand) and purchase five loaders full of 7.63 mm ammunitions and one rifle 458 at XAF 50,000 (fifty thousand). He then recruited Lognangue Levi to be the shooter, Nsimbi Zoina and Abegouo farvin to be the carriers with the help of one pastor Adjoko Jean who provided means to make other provisions and cross the Sangha river from Hydro-Congo to Djaka overnight. Beukou then killed four elephants after nine days in the forest and collected one pair of ivory tusks in a forest near Bomassa. After this hunting expedition, Beukou and his team spent the night in a camp where they will be caught red handed and arrested by rangers while sleeping. They were interrogated at the Kabo police district where they admitted the facts and brought to the state prosecutor.
The Public Prosecutor's Office and the Sangha Departmental Directorate of Water and Forests vs Bekou Leonard, Lognangue Levi Bonaventure, Nsimbi Zoina Bienvenu and Abegouo Farvin
Country
Territorial subdivision
Court
Type of court
Seat of court
Ouesso
Court jurisdiction
Date of opinion
2018
Abstract
Language of document
French
Reference number
No. 173/2018
Charges
Hunting with a war weapon and ammunitions, killing of a totally protected specie, complicity of hunting with a war weapon and ammunitions, complicity of killing of elephants, circulation with ivory tusks, complicity of circulation with ivory tusks.
Species
Transnational
No
Decision
Bekou Leonard and Lognangue Levi Bonaventure were found guilty of hunting with a war weapon and ammunitions, killing of totally protected species and circulation with ivory tusks; Nsimbi Zoina Bienvenu and Abegouo Farvin were found guilty of complicity of hunting with a war weapon and ammunitions, killing of totally protected species and circulation with ivory tusks.
Appealed
No
Penalty
Bekou Leonard, Lognangue Levi Bonaventure, Nsimbi Zoina Bienvenu and Abegouo were sentenced to five years imprisonment, XAF 5,000,000 (five million) as fines and XAF 5,000,000 (five million) as damages each; The Imprisonment in default of payment was fixed to two months for the recovery of fines, one month for the recovery of court fees and two months for the recovery of damages. The war weapon was given back to the Military zone No 05 and the ivory tusks and hunting weapon was given back to the Sangha Departmental Directorate of Water and Forests.
Legislation cited
Law No 37-2008 of 28 November 2008 on wildlife and protected areas