Malawi elephants: People opposing relocation receive death threats

People of Mangochi have petitioned the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to reconsider stopping relocation of the elephants from Phirilongwe near the shores of Lake Malawi to the Majete Park.

In a statement to animal welfare organisation, the group calling itself the Friends of Phirilongwe claims the people of Mangochi want a fence and a park, not a future desert, devoid of trees and wilderness.

“We have a petition that has been signed by more than one thousand two hundred Mangochi residents asking for a fence to be built rather than taking the rest of the elephants away.  There is an online group with more than one thousand members supporting the same mission. 

“They don’t want to see the elephants go, they don’t want to see the forests go, they want to safeguard their ecosystem and create a future with the elephants that sees both the community and environment gain,” reads the statement obtained by Nyasa Times.

The group claims the move was “misguided” and donors to IFAW were “mistaken”, accusing the organisation of putting what it thought were the animals’ interests above those of the local community and environment.

The statement claims people who have been opposing the relocation of the animals have been threatened and intimidated.

“The chiefs have been bullied and threatened, despite a letter signed by all three, asking that the elephants stay and a fence built,” reads the statement.

The group claims Ishmael Khan, the first applicant for the injunction which earlier stopped the transferring of the animals, had the lives of his children threatened.  His children.   Khamlepo’s (the current petitioner for an Environmental Assessment) sister has been evicted from her house in Mangochi and her life threatened.

“A group of villagers who appealed to chief Nankumba to keep the elephants was chased away by a Mr. Msasa, and told they would be killed if they continued their protests for a park, even though chief Nankumba is the only chief who still opposes your plan publicly.  All of the chiefs signed a letter to the President two and half years ago asking that a fence be built and the elephants kept in the area,” reads the statement to IFAW.

The group also claims that a local shop owner who is known to be partial to keeping the elephants was told his house would be burned and cows killed, even though he has not lobbied for this park in recent years. 

“These threats did not come from people from Mangochi, which is a small enough area that people do know each other. They came from out-of-towners, people with connections to Leonard Sefu, the head of Parks and Wildlife.  Sefu also sits on the board of Majete, the park where the elephants are being sent to and possibly killed,” the statement said.

IFAW said it was relocating the elephants to stop the animals from being killed by people in the Phirilongwe region, claiming several villagers and elephants have died as humans and animals compete for the same territory, with crop destruction a particular problem.

But the campaigners have claimed that is not the case.

“Elephants and communities have been living together happily and successfully. It’s just a matter of putting the infrastructure in place.  Human/elephant conflict has been mitigated and managed in Africa through programs like Campfire for eighteen years, this is not rocket science, but established game management practice.”

The group said a fence around the elephants’ forest would be the best solution and disclosed that funding from the World Bank was set aside for feasibility studies, but not taken up. They also claim that as soon as the elephants are removed, people will move in to the remaining forest and cut it down, leading to deforestation, erosion and the silting up of the lake.

As part of scare tactics to suppress information to the public eye, the head office of local NGO HEEED, which has been lobbying for a park for years, had all the files and records of the fight stolen in December. 

At the same time, another local NGO run by Henry (last name withheld) had copies of the HEEED records, and his house was broken into and all his records stolen.  Nothing else was touched, including his bicycle and treadle pump, both very valuable items.

“We are a coalition of concerned citizens fighting for the truth about this move to come out.  We are tired of IFAW’s threats and intimidation and stone walling. We are tired of not being listened to and we are tired of being reasonable to IFAW. You are clearly either the worse sort of hypocrites, or simply care more about your public image than about the environment and people of Malawi.  This is a chance to turn it all around, and join our coalition to request an EIA and pave the way for a better future for the people, the environment, and the last elephants of the Malawi lake-shore,” the campaigners said.

A court injunction was initially obtained by Khan stopping the elephant transfer, but has since been overturned in the High Court.

IFAW said the Malawi government has taken an ethical, pragmatic approach to solving the dilemma of the Phirilongwe elephants by partnering with them to move the elephants to Majete Wildlife Reserve which is formally protected and offers the elephants a safe, secure home for the long-term.

IFAW said it remained dedicated to focusing on regional conservation efforts such as trans-boundary wildlife linkages to preempt human-wildlife conflict situations similar to that which has existed in Phirilongwe

An observer said people of Mangochi are being misled about this elephant relocation and that IFAW and Africa parks have at best misrepresented the facts and at worse are guilty of corrupt practices.

Tagged with: Elephants, IFAW, Ishmael Khan, Majete Game reserve, Mangochi

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