Guards at Prince Harry’s Africa conservation charity face new killing and torture allegations

An African conservation organization of which Prince Harry is director is facing further allegations of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and violent abuse.

New allegations of brutality in Zambia by rangers jointly managed by African Parks have emerged following the MoS’s front-page report in January on armed guards engaged in abuse, rape and torture of the Baka tribe in the Republic Congo.

The charity – which manages parks in 12 African countries, with 1,400 wardens patrolling protected areas almost the size of Britain – claims it saves wildlife by working with local communities.

And before the allegations were made, Prince Harry, chairman of the charity for six years until joining its board of directors last year, boasted: ‘The African Parks Model is exactly what conservation should be about: putting people at the center of nature. solution.’

But now allegations of brutality have emerged in Zambia’s Bangweulu Wetlands, a nature reserve almost the size of Devon and home to 50,000 indigenous people who have the right to ‘sustainably’ harvest natural resources such as fish, antelope and rabbits .

New allegations have emerged of brutality in Zambia by park rangers jointly managed by African Parks

Farmer Chanda Mwewa was among 48 people shot at a market

African Parks has managed the area since 2008, in partnership with the government and six local chiefdoms. The charity says this is the only project where management responsibilities have not been fully integrated, with conservation law enforcement remaining under the supervision of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.

While it is not clear exactly who carried out the attacks in Zambia, an investigation by this newspaper found evidence that a marketplace was shelled with gunfire in September 2021, injuring dozens of villagers, including young children.

Impoverished people in Bangweulu, one of Africa’s most important wetlands, now say they are suffering a campaign of intimidation to prevent them from fishing and hunting on their own land, as tourists arrive for safari expeditions that can cost as much as £5,000 a day .

“Our house has become a nightmare that we fear every day,” said Luni Elo, who was shot during the attack on the Muwele village market. Farmer Chipulu Mwale, 23, who was also injured, called for African Parks to leave: “They have turned this place into a living hell.”

African Parks insists it has ‘zero tolerance’ towards human rights abuses and has hired Cherie Blair’s law firm to investigate the MoS’s original allegations that rangers in Congo beat, raped and tortured locals.

The MoS has seen minutes of the council meetings of the largest chiefdoms, which include claims of “extrajudicial killings, mutilations, severe beatings and torture.” The document states that “twelve people have been shot or beaten to death” and that poaching suspects are “paraded naked in front of their families and neighbors.” Newton Ng’uni, the chairman of the council, claimed that, among other things, a man had been killed after he was caught fishing. “They just beat him, but not a single ranger is locked up,” he said.

Villagers in Muwele claim the market shooting took place after rangers arrested a man found with antelope meat and then chased a second suspect into the village, despite an agreement with the local community. This led to protests and stone throwing that damaged vehicles, including two belonging to African Parks.

The Ministry of Tourism said law enforcement officers “fired warning shots to disperse the villagers.” Locals claim that 48 people were injured, including five women and three children. “I was hit in the arm,” said farmer Chanda Mwewa. ‘The pain was unbearable.’

The charity claims it saves wildlife by working with local communities

African Parks insists it has ‘zero tolerance’ of human rights abuses and has hired Cherie Blair’s law firm to investigate the MoS’s original allegations

Impoverished people in Bangweulu, one of Africa’s most important wetlands, now say they are suffering an intimidation campaign to stop them fishing and hunting

A minister told Zambia’s parliament that “moderate force” was being used against “riotous” and “enraged residents.” And African Parks said incidents were reported to the criminal justice system and that rangers acted in self-defense “due to armed threats from suspected poachers.”

‘It’s our way of life. What they call poaching is just fishing or hunting,” one man said. Sturburn Chuma, co-founder of Zambian campaign group Action For Nature, said: “We agree with conservation, but people still need something to put on the table.” African Parks admitted in its 2022 annual report that it had seen “a number of unfortunate interactions… between residents and the park rangers, which have resulted in both injuries and fatalities.”

Fiore Longo, campaign director for Survival International, which fights for the rights of indigenous people, said: “This is yet another case of abuse and violence, allegedly in the name of conservation.”

Her group wrote to Prince Harry in May about “appalling human rights violations” in Congo’s Odzala-Kokoua National Park. Harry’s spokesman said the duke “immediately escalated” the allegations to the chairman and chief executive of African Parks.

The charity told this newspaper that none of the research teams had yet visited the park. There is no evidence that Harry had any knowledge of the allegations about what happened in Zambia.

African Parks said: ‘While there have been incidents that we condemn, it would be incorrect to suggest that African Parks is responsible for systemic misconduct in the area.’