Cecil case man detained over antelope death

A ZIMBABWEAN hunter who was caught up in the Cecil the lion scandal was in prison this weekend after he was charged on Friday with illegally hunting an endangered antelope.

While Zimbabwe has sufficient lions on its remaining wildlife land, roan antelope are much rarer and there are only about 70 left in the Kruger National Park in neighbouring South Africa.

Headman Sibanda, 56, was arrested last Thursday after a tip-off from rangers. He appeared before magistrates on Friday near Zimbabwe’s largest game reserve, the Hwange National Park.

His case is so serious he will only be able to apply for bail from the High Court. Hunting a roan antelope carries a maximum sentence of nine years in jail.

Mr Sibanda worked for Zimbabwe’s Parks authority for many years, and before that was a policeman, according to wildlife experts. “He helped write some of the wildlife laws in Zimbabwe,” said one of his former colleagues.

After President Robert Mugabe ordered land invasions in 2000, Mr Sibanda took over a white-owned game wildlife property, Railway Farm, and formed a hunting company.

Last year he sold a permit for a lion to a Zimbabwe safari company, which was hired to host the US dentist Walter Palmer. The safari company spent thousands of pounds on Mr Sibanda’s property preparing for Dr Palmer’s hunt.

Dr Palmer did not kill the lion on Mr Sibanda’s farm, but later drew worldwide condemnation for shooting Cecil on a nearby property. Mr Sibanda was arrested in the wake of the Cecil scandal on suspicion of hunting without a licence, but was freed without charge.

He was previously convicted of shooting wildlife without a permit.