A Mombasa court has convicted and sentenced two men to four years in prison each for having and dealing with ivory horn.
The court heard that Hajj and Mwinyi were in possession of the product, which had a street value of Sh3 million.
Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku ruled on Friday that the court was satisfied with the evidence presented by the prosecution on both counts.
She went on to say that the prosecution, led by Alex Gatuma, had established that the two were in possession of rhino horn without a permit.
Mutuku also ruled that the sentences would run concurrently.
The trend has been upward, with officials working hard to put an end to the trading.
Two herders were charged with illegal possession of elephant tusks earlier this month.
They allegedly committed the crime in Mwembe Tayari, Mombasa, on June 13, 2023.
On June 14, they were arraigned before Mutuku and given Sh1 million bond terms with two personal sureties and an alternative Sh1 million cash bail.
Kenya Wildlife Service detectives allegedly discovered them with elephant tusks worth Sh2 million.
The court heard that they were allegedly jointly found dealing in two pieces of elephant tusk weighing six kilograms concealed in a brownish safari bag without a permit or other lawful exemption.
Elephant tusks fetch a fortune in the black market as a surge in demand for ivory in the East continues to fuel the illicit trade in elephant tusks, especially from Africa.
