Four wildlife offenders have been sentenced to prison after being convicted of unlawfully entering a protected area, hunting wildlife and possessing specimens of protected species in the Masindi area.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said the Chief Magistrate’s Court of Masindi sentenced Owinja Gilbert, Oyergiu Damas, Iutung Godfrey and Oyirworh Stephen on September 3, following their arrest in the Corner Ojara area on July 15, 2026.
The four men pleaded guilty when they appeared before court on July 23 and were subsequently remanded.
Each offender received two years’ imprisonment for unlawful entry into a protected area, four years for unlawful hunting in a protected area and eight years for unlawful possession of wildlife specimens of protected species. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning each offender will effectively serve the longest term of eight years.
The court also ordered each convict to pay Shs10,000 per kilogramme of wildlife meat, amounting to Shs4.17 million for the 417 kilogrammes recovered.
Among the items recovered from the suspects were 11 spears, four knives, a panga, a sharpening file, 417.952 kilogrammes of suspected wildlife meat, five buffalo tails, a giraffe tail, two buffalo horns, an oribi horn, Uganda kob skin and legs, Jackson’s hartebeest legs and other buffalo body parts.
Defence lawyer Harriet Ajok asked the court for leniency, arguing that the offenders were first-time offenders with family responsibilities.
But UWA lead prosecutor Kato Robinson urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing the growing prevalence of wildlife crime around Murchison Falls National Park and the importance of wildlife tourism to Uganda’s economy.
In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Olara Gumutwero acknowledged that the offenders were first-time offenders but said the increasing incidence of wildlife crime justified a deterrent sentence.
The magistrate stressed that protecting wildlife was critical to Uganda’s tourism industry and broader national development objectives.
UWA Executive Director Dr James Musinguzi said the authority would continue working with law enforcement agencies and the Judiciary to curb wildlife crime.
“UWA remains committed to protecting Uganda’s wildlife,” Musinguzi said, adding that the authority was deploying technology to track offenders and strengthening ranger presence in protected areas.
He urged people engaged in wildlife trafficking and related crimes to abandon the trade and seek alternative sources of livelihood.
The case comes as Uganda continues to strengthen enforcement against poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking, particularly in and around protected areas that support the country’s tourism industry.
