Tanzanian police believe wildlife activist may have been tracked by his killer

Police believe Wayne Lotter’s killer may have followed and targeted the conservationist when he was shot on Wednesday, according to inside sources.

Lotter was stopped and then fatally shot while travelling by taxi from Dar es Salaam airport to a hotel. He had been working in Tanzania for many years, exposing and jailing wildlife poachers and traffickers, and he had received a number of death threats. Tanzania’s director for criminal investigation, Robert Boaz, said a murder investigation was underway.

The inquiry is in its early stages and police sources say no substantial evidence has been found. But the initial information gathered has made them suspect that the killer may have been watching Lotter, according to a senior police source who spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity.

“It is too early to say anything at the moment but we suspect his killers may have been watching his movements from Arusha all the way to Dar es Salaam while he was travelling. We suspect that the killers may have probably gone as far as circulating the news of his death after they had killed him. These are some of the issues the investigation will look closely into,” said the source.

Boaz stated that an investigation into the killing had started and called on the public to share information with the police.

“This is a murder case, and therefore rigorous investigation is required to identify the suspects. We would like to assure the public that the police is currently investigating the matter and we will arrest all the suspects of the incident,” he said.

The acting Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander, Lucas Mkondya released a statement late Friday saying that Lotter, who is a South African citizen, had been shot at 11:52pm on Wednesday while riding in a taxi from the Dar Es Salaam airport along Haile Selassie and Kaole roads in Masaki area. The statement described a single attacker, who pulled up in his car to block the taxi, and then shot twice while demanding money. However, witnesses at the scene say there were two attackers. Elisifa Ngowi, head of Tanzania’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit which is funded by the Pams foundation (on the right in the main picture), told the Guardian: “The investigations are going on well. The police are working on this investigation and our unit is working with the police, hand in hand.”

“Police cannot say at this stage that there is a connection between the facts and poaching. It is too early to say anything. Until we get the suspects, then it is too early to say who are they and what they were up to”.

“It’s being taken very seriously, so we are very proud of the Tanzanian government for how they have handled the investigation so far,” said Krissie Clark who co-founded the Pams Foundation with Lotter in 2009.

A ‘shining light’ in the conservation world

Both Lotter and Clark have worked in wildlife conservation for decades. Inspired by their mutual passion for Africa’s wildlife, and appalled by the devastation they saw poaching wreaking across the continent, Lotter and Clark founded PAMS as a small, nimble NGO, that they hoped would be able to have the maximum amount of impact. They train wildlife rangers, sponsor education initiatives and after-school wildlife clubs and work with farmers. They also work with law enforcers, with police and with a special taskforce, to identify poachers and trafficking networks, and then to get them into court and through the Tanzanian legal system. PAMS has earned a global reputation as a NGO that punches well above its size; tough, committed and effective.

The nonprofit uses a multifaceted approach to conservation pioneered by Lotter that saw the group train hundreds of wildlife rangers across Tanzania and sponsored several education initiatives and after school wildlife clubs in dozens of schools in areas where poaching was rampant. The group also worked with farmers in several areas to reduce human wildlife conflict.

Tributes to Lotter have poured in from all corners of the world. In an obituary posted online by primatologist Jane Goodall, she praised Lotter for his work. “Wayne was a hero of mine, a hero to many, someone who devoted his life to protecting Africa’s wildlife,” she wrote. “There is no doubt in my mind that Wayne’s anti poaching efforts made a big difference in the fight to save Tanzania’s elephants from the illegal ivory trade.”

Goodall, who spent many of her research years studying primates in Tanzania, intervened on Lotter’s behalf in 2014 when he faced opposition to his anti-poaching work. “At that time powerful vested interests were desperately trying to blacken Wayne’s name and close down the Pams Foundation,” she said in the post.

Mary Rice, the executive director of the Environmental Investigation Agency called Lotter “one of the conservation world’s shining lights” and called his Foundation’s approach to conservation and anti-poaching one of the most successful models in Africa today. “Pams has been central in tackling rampant poaching and illegal wildlife trade in Tanzania, to the extent that criminal networks have moved into neighbouring countries to escape the increased enforcement and prosecution success that has been underpinned by the work of Wayne and his colleagues,” Rice said.

Wildlife champion Paula Kahumbu and Helen Clark, ex New Zealand prime minister and one-time head of the UN Development programme both tweeted their sadness.

Leonardo DiCaprio also paid tribute to “a true conservation hero”.

The head of the African Wildlife Foundation, Kaddu Sebunya, said: “Africa has lost a great friend and champion for wildlife. Wayne was one of the true heroes of conservation in Africa. AWF worked with Wayne for many years and we are saddened by his brutal murder. Our deepest condolences to his family and the PAMS team. Such a tragic loss for the African elephant. The best tribute we can give Wayne is to continue his good work to protect our heritage as Africans.”

Pams Foundation and the specialised government anti-poaching unit supported by the nonprofit said Lotter’s death will not deter them from their work. “The war continues, of course, our work will continue,” said Ngowi, the head of the anti-poaching taskforce team.

“This will not stop Pams’ work in Tanzania. We will continue with our education programmes and providing support and training to the thousands of rangers and game scouts we work with across the country,” said Clark.

“We will continue to fight and finish what Wayne started.”

A memorial will be held for Lotter at Baobab Village in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday starting at 4pm (East Africa Time). The ceremony is open to the public. A funeral service will be held in Arusha, Tanzania at a later date.

*Vulcan, who support this independent editorial series, is also one of the funders for PAMS.