Tanzanian minister accuses police of incompetence in Lotter murder probe

Johannesburg – Following the failure of Tanzanian police to make any arrests in respect to the murder of prominent South African wildlife conservationist Wayne Lotter, Tanzania’s natural resources minister has accused the police of incompetence, AP reported.

Hamisi Kigwangalla on Thursday threatened to escalate the issue by taking it up with President John Magufuli saying that the police had information “but had failed to take action” against those who planned the killing.

Lotter became a target after he developed techniques to catch elephant poachers and ivory smugglers.

He was shot and killed in Tanzania’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam in August last year.However, the city’s Special Zone Police Commander Lazaro Mambosasa said the investigation was continuing while Kigwangalla will release a list of suspects in a large wildlife trafficking ring that has operated in the country for decades.

Hunters in the country have been accused of using their licenses to cooperate with a syndicate of elephant poachers.

Lotter was a director and co-founder of the PAMS Foundation, an NGO that provides conservation and anti-poaching support to communities and governments in Africa.

Since starting the organisation in Tanzania in 2009, he had received numerous death threats relating to his work.