It has been reported that the Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete announced the re-activation of the country’s Operation Tokomeza anti-poaching campaign launched in September. The campaign was temporarily suspended on 1 November when claims of human rights abuses were raised against it. The President said that the government would investigate the complaints of abuses during the campaign. The report quotes President Kikwete as having said to the Tanzanian Parliament that: ‘We are going to rectify such mistakes and take to task culprits, and later continue with the mission to fight poachers and protect elephants from imminent extinction’. Kikwete apparently also said that abandoning the operation would be tantamount to letting the poachers win, and that the efforts should continue as animals were being slaughtered at alarming rates.
