CHEWORE Lodge and Campsite owner, William Kelly, has been acquitted of “entering a rival safari operator’s territory and stealing professional hunter Clifton Walker’s US$40 camera before tempering with its data”.
While Harare magistrate Ethel Chichera has dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence, this effectively ended the 70 yea-rold businessman’s eight months ordeal. He was also battling with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) and Big Five Safari Private Limited.
“It is not a clear court case that the place in question belongs to Big Five. From the evidence, it was confirmed by some witnesses… that there was a dispute.
“One clearly said they were informed by parks that there was 40 square kilometres… which was erroneously given to the accused (but) the court does not understand what was erroneous considering that the lease is… signed by (all) partners,” magistrate Chichera said, adding it was, therefore, “clear that there was something going on between BFS, Kelly’s company and ZimParks, which ended up with two parties claiming the same piece of land”.
“The moment the court makes a finding that the accused needed permission, it would mean that… the place belongs to the Big Five. As it stands, there are two leases and each signed by authorities.
“Besides the 40km2, the accused already owned a fishing camp. By virtue of that, he could be in the area. In light of that, there is no evidence… that the accused needed permission to enter (that) place or he was wrong to pass by..,” the magistrate said, adding that the second charge was also wobbly as “senior parks ranger Charles Kanda had refused to accept the Bushnell motion sensor gadget and Kanyemba police officer Murove had exonerated the Suscaden Investments owner by saying that there was no intention to steal”.
While the magistrate emphasised that the “court was convinced that there was no theft as there was no-one who could steal something and immediately report or hand it over to authorities” like what Kelly had done, the accused thoroughly believed this was poaching and, therefore, his actions were motivated by the need to protect the area as well as his lease with ZimParks.
Further, Chichera came out strongly against Kanda – who despite acknowledging receipt of an audio message from the safari operator and knew he was due for an piece of extra land, but spectacularly tried to nail and claimed the area under dispute belonged to the elderly businessman’s rivals until the High Court cases or fights were finalised – and said the accused was not expected to get permission from Walker to confiscate the camera, had no benefit to nick it and his actions could not be equated to unlawful benefit, as he only had “an obligation to preserve evidence to give to the former”.
“The court cannot rely on the evidence of the complainant (Walker) who left the camera on August 13, 2023 and was aggrieved by the removal, and disturbance of the hunting. From the analysis… it was very clear that three grounds have been proved (to exist, but) the state failed to prove the essential elements of the offences. Putting the accused to his defence will be tantamount to… building a case by hoping the accused might incriminate himself..,” she said in delivering the discharge and not guilty verdict.
“There was no evidence in which a reasonable court acting carefully might properly convict and that is why prosecution was initially declined in Guruve. The evidence was weak and it ended up confirming the defence of the accused… In light of the above, it is the court’s findings that no prima facie has been brought forward (and one cannot even suggest or establish) balance of probabilities. There is no need to put accused to his defence,” Chichera said.
Despite stumping up evidence of his numerous reports about poaching activities in his non-hunting Zambezi valley concession, Kelly still found himself in trouble as it also emerged during trial that the case was even revived by five Harare superintendents flown to northern Zimbabwe on a “BFS Cessna 206 plane”.
Further, he complained about being “seized at night, whisked to Kanyemba in a boat owned by his adversary and rafted through the dangerous Mupata gorge despite this being prohibited on the Zambezi River by law”.
There were also testimonial contradictions between Richard Chapoto, the private concessionaire and protagonist’s manager, and Walker on the number of hippopotamuses killed on that particular hunt. Having initially signed a three square kilometre joint venture concession with ZimParks in 2009 and started a new lease in 2017 as part of a multi-million lawsuit settlement with the parastatal, Kelly has found itself in endless turf wars and on a collision course with his powerful competitors ever since.
And the safari operator’s enemies are claiming that they still own part of Chewore, which they have leased and operated since 37 years ago. According to Chapoto and Kanda, Billy Rautenbach owns BFS.