Zimpapers Logo

Taona Nhamoyebonde Spectrum
Well, well, well! The poaching of Zimbabwe’s most famous lion, Cecil, the godfather of Hwange National Park has sparked international outrage and ignited demonstrations in yonder United States. But the story goes beyond the mourning. The morning after, is what we should preoccupy ourselves with, if we are progressive thinking Zimbabweans.

When the tears eventually dry, reality shall set upon us. You must also audit funeral proceeds, mustn’t you? In whose pocket, were funeral proceeds being deposited?

Cecil’s Death

This Cecil, the huge muscular feline weighing more than 200kg whose mane had grown outstandingly darker — itself a sign of old age — has been mourned more than many human beings.

Before Zimbabwe is swept off its feet by tears cascading down white cheeks in Europe, it is prudent, never to forget that when an outsider mourns more than the bereaved, his motive will only surface after the funeral, when emotions stop flying: when the dust has settled.

Like all silent farts, reality announces itself in the putrid scent.

Firstly, Zimbabwe should be applauded for its sound conservation, for, on average a male lion lives 10 years in the jungle, given the rigours of hunting, fighting for mating rights, siring children and territorial fights.

At 13 years of age in the wild, Cecil had already started making history, telling Zimbabwe’s conservation story until one eccentric American hunter Dr Walter James Palmer used his dollar power to put him down — firstly by a cross-bow and arrow (itself very cruel and barbaric) and thereafter by gun after the arrow failed to put down Cecil.

Dr Palmer, a highly rated dentist, was helped by a white professional hunter, who so loved the money, that he probably disregarded all the laid down rules and regulation of Zimbabwe.

They had to lure Cecil from his normal abode, Hwange National Park, by dragging a bait.

The black owner of the scene of death Mr Ndlovu himself, did not have the permit to hunt a lion on his soil. National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority had not given him a hunting quota for a lion.

So, he was complicit in crime. That is the reason why, according to police records, they tried to hide the hunt and even the collar that was on the tracking system.

That is the sad story of Cecil. Very, very, very sad indeed! It needed an American to destroy our heritage.

In the aftermath

But there is worse that Cecil’s death will bring to Zimbabwe. It is actually a curse. We have among us, people like John Rodriguez, the self-styled and self-appointed and most importantly, all-knowing ultra-conservationist and defender of Zimbabwe’s animal rights. This man is actually shedding crocodile tears.

I am not racist, but Rodriguez’ skin tells you that he comes from an ancestral lineage of Europeans who decimated their entire wildlife population and even wire-snared many into extinction. Now their great grandchild, have found “poor and little-knowing Zimbabweans”, to whom he has pretended to be the Jesus Christ of our wild animals.

This Rodriguez, has more often than not, presented himself to the corridors of Zimbabwe’s power as the best person to defend the rights of our wildlife heritage, yet he has benefited from that position by earning thousands in the name of our conservation from Europe. He is the proverbial outsider who mourns more than the bereaved!

Worse still, when it suits him, Rodriguez attacks the same Government as a way of getting money from Europe. Through his organisation, Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, which he formed in 2001, Rodriguez has tried on many occasions to dislodge National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority from its official role of being the vanguard of Zimbabwe’s natural heritage.

His belief that he knows better than all blacks is not only racist, but shameful. It is high time he is unmasked.

In 2013, when Zimbabwe won the bid to host the all-important mega tourism event, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly, the first ever for Southern Africa, Rodriguez was in the forefront of telling Europe to boycott Zimbabwe, simply because the Government wanted the indigenous blacks benefit from wildlife in Save Valley, where a white minority maintained hegemony.

He failed eventually, but not after rattling the world tourism family.

But we are not fools. Before the tears for Cecil even dry, Rodriguez and his friends have already started advocating a ban on hunting of wildlife in Zimbabwe.

They are abusing Cecil’s death and using it as a pointer to worse scenarios. We all know that when hunting is done properly, Zimbabwe benefits a lot and that it is one of the industries that are still lucrative.

One incident should not be used or abused to discredit an entire project that is the future of the country.

Never forget that Rodriguez was the leader of a ban on ivory trade, using his American connections and America indeed bought his story and banned trade from Zimbabwe late last year. Stuck with an overpopulation of elephants, about 110 000 beasts against a holding capacity of 56 000, Zimbabwe then turned to selling live baby elephants to needy China as a way to decongest and the same Rodriguez started another campaign to stop Zimbabwe.

He is still live in that campaign.

Soon after the UNTWO, there was discovery of cyanide poison in Hwange National Park and Rodriguez was at it again, this time around, accusing “bigwigs in Government” of funding the poisoning. Up to now he has not produced evidence to that effect and yet he soiled the Government on the international scene.

“They are afraid we will tell people the truth about the poaching situation and how the elephants were killed.

“There is a cover-up going on there at Hwange and bigwigs are involved,’’ he said at the time.

Rodriguez said 300 more elephants had died in Tsholotsho in July 2013 through cyanide poisoning and accused the Government of taking six weeks to react to the situation, but in reality the entire cyanide poisoning saga had claimed 90 elephants.

What an alarmist? Not that 90 elephants are a joke, but the difference in figures, especially for a self-proclaimed world class conservationist, point to someone hallucinating.

A few months ago, Rodriguez posted on his website as follows: “The Zimbabwean Minister of Environment and Water, Saviour Kasukuwere, has publicly attacked me for trying to stop the export of the baby elephants.

“He has accused me of fighting in the war. During the war, everybody had to fight — there was no option. He says that I must ‘shut up’ so if I don’t shut up, will I disappear like the journalist Itai Dzamara?

“The blame game doesn’t work. There are other ways of sorting out Zimbabwe’s problems. By exporting the elephants, people who want to see them can go to their local zoos and safari parks instead of coming to spend their money in Zimbabwe.”

This shows Rodriguez’ mentality. He survives on creating the tag of a man victimised for sincerely championing the rights of wildlife.

Surprisingly, when some awkward organisation calling itself Africa Albida, came up with Santoga Project, a zoo disguised as a theme park which involved not only keeping wild animals in captivity, but also blocking the only remaining animal corridor to the Zambezi River, Rodriguez and his organisation remained mum, because some whites had poured in a lot of money.

Others allege that Rodriguez was actually part of the team that sought to provide wildlife to the zoo. Whether this is true or false, Rodriguez was conspicuous by his silence. It was very unusual for such an accomplished loud mouth.

When Cecil’s funeral is done and gone, when those tears stop dropping down the white cheeks in yonder Europe, when proceeds of the funeral in cash and kind are audited, then you will see how Zimbabwe will be made to suffer.

There shall be sanctions! On a parting note, I sympathise with Cecil, for, there shall never be a grave and tombstone for him, despite all this hullabaloo. There shall be cash in Rodriguez pocket. Poor Cecil!