According to Hubert Planton, who has been in Cameroon since 1987, one rhino was killed in Benoue National Park in 1996; the pair of horns weighing 5.5 kg was removed and brought to Garoua for sale.
The few rhino horns reaching Sanaa in the late 1990s have probably originated from rhinos that were poached in Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Garamba National Park (Martin and Hillman Smith, 1999). In June 1999, Sanaa traders mentioned for the first time Uganda as a source for rhino horn, which probably links with the horn from nearby Garamba. In 1996 and 1997 a minimum of four white rhinos were poached in Garamba National Park. At least one of these horns is recorded to have been taken from the small town of Aru in the DRC, just across the border, to Arua town in Uganda for sale in 1997 (Martin and Hillman Smith, 1999).
Due to the ongoing wars in the Horn of Africa and the migration of refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea to Yemen, it is likely that some rhino horn has also entered Sanaa with these refugees (Mohammed al Haymi, Deputy Minister of Industry, Yemen, pers. comm., 1999).
To Yemen. Yemen's long coastline extends from Saudi Arabia in the west to Oman in the east, making it difficult to control smuggling. The most popular route is via Djibouti and across the Red Sea by boat, usually a zarook (Photo 2). These dhows carry many smuggled items from Djibouti to Yemen, including whisky and electronic goods. The sailors often cross at Bab al Mandab, the narrowest point where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean, and they land near Mocha on the Yemen coast. The three horns known to have reached Sanaa in 1998 were smuggled into Yemen by this route. A Sudanese businessman brought the horns from Sudan to his office in Djibouti, hidden in sacks of foodstuff (such as sesame seeds and groundnuts). A member of the main jambiya family went to Djibouti and bought the horns for $1,200 a kg. This person gave the horns to a boat owner and flew back to Yemen, probably meeting the boat owner at a pre-planned place near Mocha, according to confidential sources in Yemen. In mid-1999, undercover work was organized by the authors in Djibouti. It was found that rhino horn can sell in Djibouti wholesale for around $600-$800 a kg. Yemeni men in the textile business had recently bought rhino horns, according to Djibouti sources. There is thus no doubt that rhino horn is nowadays being taken to Djibouti and sold there to be exported illicitly to Yemen.
Almost all the horn in Cameroon is exported because there is little demand for it within the country. Planton was told that occasionally it is used by traditional doctors when they pray.
Yemen in 1999. Table 1. Average retail prices of jambiyas in Sanaa in June 1999. Handle type Price in rials Price in US dollars Plastic 500 3 Wood 500 3 Water buffalo horn 2,000 12 Camel hoof 2,500 15 New rhino horn 65,000 394 Rhino horn over 10 years old 120,450 730 End
To Yemen. In June 1999, Sanaa traders mentioned for the first time Uganda as a source for rhino horn, which probably links with the horn from nearby Garamba. In 1996 and 1997 a minimum of four white rhinos were poached in Garamba National Park. At least one of these horns is recorded to have been taken from the small town of Aru in the DRC, just across the border, to Arua town in Uganda for sale in 1997 (Martin and Hillman Smith, 1999).
To Yemen. Traders in Sanaa also state they have received horns from Kenya. According to sources in East Africa, at least three black rhino horns were offered for sale in Kenya from March 1998 to March 1999. One horn reportedly originated from Tanzania and was transported to Mtito Andei in Kenya and then to Nairobi for sale. A second horn reportedly came from an area south of Garissa towards the northern part of Tsavo East National Park and was taken to Nairobi by a woman involved in the curio business. The third horn came from the Taita/Taveta area in Kenya, but it probably originated in Tanzania. The owners of these horns offered them for sale in Nairobi for 35,000 Kenya shillings ($538) to Ksh 50,000 ($833) with an average price of Ksh 40,000 ($667) per horn, not per kg (TRAFFIC East/Southem Africa, pers. comm., 1999). If the average weight of a black rhino horn in Kenya is 1.44 kg (Martin, 1979), then these middlemen were earning about Ksh 27,778 ($463) per kg. The exporter buys the horn for around Ksh 45,000 ($750) per kg. Reports from Kenyan traders state that some horns are exported from Nairobi in diplomatic bags.
Due to the ongoing wars in the Horn of Africa and the migration of refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea to Yemen, it is likely that some rhino horn has also entered Sanaa with these refugees (Mohammed al Haymi, Deputy Minister of Industry, Yemen, pers. comm., 1999).
