A Mombasa Court has convicted and sentenced two men to four years imprisonment each for being found in possession of and dealing with ivory horn.
The court heard that Hajj and Mwinyi were in possession of the product estimated at Sh3 million, street value.
Delivering her judgement on Friday, Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku ruled that the court was satisfied with the evidence submitted by the prosecution on both counts.
She added that the prosecution, which was led by Alex Gatuma, had proved that the two were in possession of Rhino horn without a permit.
The prosecution had seven witnesses.
Mutuku further ruled that the jail terms will run concurrently.
The trend has been on the high with officials working to put an end tto the trading.
Earlier in June, two herders were charged with illegal possession of elephant tusks.
They allegedly committed the crime on June 13,2023 in Mwembe Tayari, Mombasa.
They were arraigned before Mutuku on June 14 and given bond terms of Sh1 million each, with two personal sureties and an alternative Sh1 million cash bail.
They were accused of dealing in ivory and allegedly found with Sh2 million worth of elephant tusks by Kenya Wildlife Service detectives.
The court heard that they were allegedly jointly found dealing in two pieces of elephant tusk weighing six kilograms concealed in a brownish safari bag without a permit or other lawful exemption.
Elephant tusks fetch a fortune in the black market as a surge in demand for ivory in the East continues to fuel the illicit trade in elephant tusks, especially from Africa.
Officials say despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers.
