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At least seven people are facing spending the rest of their lives in prison if convicted after they were arrested and an unspecified amount of ivory allegedly recovered from them. 

The development follows an ongoing operation in the Kamdini sub-county, Oyam district by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in conjunction with the Uganda Police Force.

The seven suspects were apprehended and reportedly found in possession of elephant tusks in Apala B village, Juma Parish in the Kamdini sub-county.

Apala B LC1 chairperson Bonny Omara confirmed the arrests but could not provide the suspects' identities.

Omara noted that the suspects were picked up on Wednesday morning in an operation but that his office was not informed.

James Peter Ewau, the warden in charge of Karuma Wildlife Reserve in Murchison Falls National Game Park, said the matter is still under investigation.

“We are still moving on with the investigation. So, it's not good to disclose because there are still some leads that we are following and the Police are on the lead with us,” Ewau said on the phone on Thursday evening.

When asked about the suspects and the amount of ivory recovered, Ewau said they are still hunting for more and it could be much more with a wider racket.

“You will get more information but let's keep our fingers crossed up to tomorrow, by this time Police should be able to give information,” he said. 

Uganda is still struggling to curb cases of poaching and illegal ivory trade. This is despite stringent penalties in place for those found guilty of possession of ivory and bush meat trade.

Possible life in prison 

On October 20, 2022, the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court for the first time handed a life sentence to an illegal ivory dealer.

Pascal Ochiba was convicted for unlawful possession of protected species after being found in possession of two pieces of elephant ivory weighing 9.55kg without a wildlife use permit.

Ochiba was also convicted by the same court in 2017 with two counts of unlawful possession of protected species. The court argued that leaving Ochiba in circulation increases the risks for endangered species.