| The logs seized in Kenya in 2014 were already marked and recorded in Madagascar according to the explanations. |
Customs authorities indicate that they have held negotiations with Tanzania to repatriate the cargo of rosewood intercepted in Mombassa (Kenya) in 2014.
A case that does not lack spice. The hope of repatriating the 640 tonnes of rosewood recently seized by the Tanzanian authorities may not yet have evaporated. The Malagasy authorities claim to be negotiating with the authorities of Dar es Salaam to repatriate these natural resources which were seized ten years ago at the port of Mombassa in Kenya.
According to the customs administration, negotiations will now take place with the Tanzanian authorities who seized the cargo again in November 2022. “Since 2023, there have been talks between the Tanzanian and Malagasy authorities to repatriate this rosewood in Madagascar. Negotiations and procedures regarding the repatriation of these natural resources are already underway. Last November, customs already dispatched three people to negotiate the repatriation of the cargo,” said Ernest Lainkana Zafivanona, Director General of Customs, yesterday at Novotel Alarobia during an interview with the press. It was in 2014 when Malagasy rosewood intended for export to Hong Kong was intercepted and seized in Mombassa during a stopover by the Kenyan wildlife authorities “Kenya Wildlife Services”. The cargo is estimated at $12.8 million if we believe the figures provided at the time by customs administration sleuths.
Lack of luck
A few years after that, in 2022, the Kenyan courts decided to return “thirty-four containers of rosewood to a company based in Hong Kong”. In November 2022, “the Kenyan court, by way of order, authorized the containers to be cross-loaded, going from 34 20-foot containers to 22 40-foot containers,” indicates the General Directorate of Customs. At that time, the containers were going to be sent to the United Arab Emirates, thus sparking a twist in this affair, eight years after the events. Despite the reluctance of shipping carriers to transport this cargo of precious timber, it is reported that the aforementioned Chinese company had found a vessel to transport these natural resources to Dubai. The cargo was, however, intercepted in Zanzibar in Tanzania by the authorities of that country.
In response, the Malagasy side had contacted CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to bypass this decision by the Kenyan courts. The Malagasy authorities also claim to be in a position to claim the right to repatriate this cargo. “These natural resources belong to us. We have the right to demand the repatriation of these containers […] The current government is entitled to claim these cargoes despite the fact that they were exported during a subsequent regime,” claims the DG of Customs. Furthermore, the customs administration indicates that no case of attempted illicit trafficking of rosewood has been intercepted in recent years. “Since that time, there are no more illicit exports of rosewood that have been notified at the borders.”
Itamara Randriamamonjy