Garamba murder ; Examination of the Scene

Well, I had my first taste of the Garamba park proper when I went out yesterday to follow up the murder and attempted murder of two Garamba rangers from the Advance Base on the afternoon of Tuesday 8th August 2006.

To say that patrolling is extreme, in an understatement.The virtually treeless plateau is dominated by grass over two meters high where a man or animal can easily conceal itself not a meter from you without you knowing it. You follow the man in front by the sound of rustling of grass.He can easily slip away unnoticed.I found this out on several occasions after crossing streams and swamps in chest deep water. On reaching the opposite bank, one plunges into a morass of emerald green foliage tearing at you arms, hoping to locate an elephant or hippo trail taking you in the general direction in which you are headed. I can think of better things to do on a Saturday!

But that is not the gist of the report. The idea was to do a scenes check at point of the crime and to do this successfully, I had to construct the sequence of events, look for clues and compile a dossier.

Kurt, three Garamba rangers and I crossed the Dungu River on a raft made of planks and forty four gallon drums and clambered into a Unimog on the opposite bank to travel to the Advance Base. Forty six kilometers and three and a half hours later traveling across the only " road" leading to the camp,( you can imagine what state it was in) we arrived to find six rangers from the ill fated seven man patrol, huddled together in one hut.

After explaining our mission, two rangers loudly protested they weren't coming. They pointed to gouge marks on their knees sustained when crawling over the hard ground from the scene of the ambush and said that they couldn't walk.

Kurt changed their ideas and after the patrol was suitably attired, we ploughed our way overland to the scene of the murder approx 6 kilometers south east of the Advance Base camp.On our arrival, and after taking GPS readings, sketching and photographing the scene, the full story emerged.

On Monday 7th August 2006, during a routine patrol, the rangers picked up human tracks in the vicinity of their camp and followed them south but to no avail.

On Tuesday 8th August 2006, they again set out on patrol and came across a poachers camp and ashes of a fire. They cast around and found the carcass of a buffalo from which they deduced the flesh had been smoked at this camp.

The continued with their patrol pattern when at about 12 noon, they heard eight shots emanating from the south. They walked a further 2 kilometers and surprised a group of poachers sitting on a beach in a shallow valley next to a river.A contact ensued during which the poachers fled, leaving behind an AK rifle, seven bundles of ivory tusks each containing three to four sticks and other paraphernalia.

The rangers took possession of the ivory and other abandoned kit and walked 2 kilometers north to the only tree in the vicinity on a crest line. They decided to rest and examine their booty. No guards were posted. It appears that the poachers regrouped and mounted a follow-up - or a detached section from the group in another sector, sneaked up through the grass catching the rangers unawares.

The tall grass surrounding their position was subjected to a burst of gun fire (they certainly weren't plainly visible) resulting in the death of one and the wounding of another. Dropping their machine gun (recovered later), a Motorola radio ,captured ivory and other equipment seized earlier, they rapidly evacuated the area and returned individually to base where they went to sleep ( no guards again!) and in which state they were found at 01h00 on Wednesday 9th August. One had the sense to pedal his bicycle down the road to get within range of the relay station from where the report was received at Nagero over the other remaining radio.

Our investigation resulted in the discovery of two torch batteries left behind at the scene of the murder (earlier taken from the poachers), scraps of cigarette papers at the " buffalo poaching camp", also a cracked open buffalo bone, and seven expended cartridge cases (calibre uncertain, but not AK cartridges, but suspected of having come from the Sudan by a Congolese army int. authority stationed with me) at the " river beach camp" where the initial contact took place on 8th Aug. All these have been retained and filed with the docket.

Dr's report on cause of death and what he observed will be recorded and filed with witnesses statements

Then altered by the presence of scores of vultures in the sky, the carcass of a dead elephant (sex not determined) in a rear kneeling position indicating that it was running when it was shot, was discovered not 1 km away further to the south. The tusks and tail had been removed.From where the other tusks originated and reportedly seen by the rangers, there is no indication. Photo's of the dead elephant have been retained for the docket.


Ends.