Police are pursuing suspected poachers in Daadab’s Dagahaley area after a giraffe carcass was found inside an abandoned car on Tuesday evening of June 4, 2024.

According to police statements, the suspected poachers took off on spotting the cops who had been alerted by members of the public.

Detectives divulged that the four suspects scampered into nearby thickets just as they planned to take off with the game meat.

Initial reports indicate that the four had wrestled the giraffe and skinned it for game meat.

“Swiftly acting on information shared by residents at Kumahumato village, officers from Dagahale Police Station rushed to the scene, intercepting a Toyota Alto with registration number KCT 727T overloaded with the animal just as it struggled to rev up,” police stated.

The sleuths added that the car was towed to a nearby police station and that the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) alerted about the Tuesday evening incident.

Giraffe carcass

Additionally, the detectives noted that the vehicle’s registration details were submitted to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to determine its owner.

The giraffe carcass was also preserved as an exhibit in the case.

On January 30, 2024, two poachers were shot dead by the Kenya Wildlife Service officers who found them skinning a female giraffe in Wajir.

Police statements indicated that the two had killed the giraffe from the expansive park in the region and the suspects had been spotted by members of the public skinning the animal.

On arriving at the scene at 4 am, a shootout ensued, according to police statements, where the two suspected poachers died on the spot.

Police recovered swords, a Smirnou assault rifle with five rounds of 7.62mm and a motorcycle that the officers suspected was to be used for transporting the game meat.

In 2023, two other poachers were also killed in the same Shioli area of Wajir county after officers drawn from the Kenya Wildlife Service cornered them with at least 70kgs of giraffe meat.

Efforts by KWS to stop illegal wildlife trade are derailed by a number of factors, including the vastness of the landscapes, lack of equipment, weak investigative, judicial and prosecution structures, a porous border, and infrastructure developments that allow for easy access and communication between poachers and traffickers.

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