Uhuru set to burn 100 tonne ivory stockpile

The fight against ivory trade will get a boost on April 30 with President Uhuru Kenyatta scheduled to set ablaze 100 tonnes of ivory worth billions of shillings.

The event, which is to be marked at the Nairobi National Park, is aimed at showing Kenya’s commitment to wildlife protection and especially to elephants which have been targeted for their ivory.

In a statement, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said that the Mr Kenyatta will be joined by several heads of state, renowned conservationists, celebrities and several hundred guests.

The occasion marks the forth time Kenya has burned ivory impounded on transit to foreign markets with the first stockpile of 12 tonnes set ablaze by former president Daniel Moi in 1989 that had an estimated value of Sh 1.2 billion.

President Kibaki followed suit when he set ablaze 335 tusks weighing 5 tonnes followed by his successor President Kenyatta who burned 15 tonnes in February this year to mark the life of late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai and World Wildlife Day.

The event is expected to bring together Hollywood celebrities and conservationists in Kenya to witness it.

It precedes the soon to be held 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species(CITES) in Johannesburg this September where crucial decisions concerning the future of the world’s remaining elephant populations will be made.

On its website, KWS said the ivory burn event will act as a rallying call to the 182 parties attending the global CITES meeting to demand the close of ivory markets.

“Kenya wants to demonstrate its leadership in ending the poaching of rhinos and elephants and the illegal trade in animal parts as well as place Kenya’s ivory and rhino horn beyond economic use – publicly and indisputably,” it said.

The ivory haul reportedly represents 38,000 elephants killed for their prized tusks.