Five people have been arrested in connection with the fire outbreak in Akagera National Park which gutted part of the reserve last weekend. Robert Komire, in a telephone interview with Sunday Times yesterday, said that the two suspects were arrested on Monday and others later in the week. “They are suspected to be poachers and have already been arraigned before the courts,” Komire revealed. He added that they are charged with illegal entry into the park. Charges could also include poaching if it is discovered that they killed animals in the park. The fire which lasted over 38 hours started on Friday August 15 was put out two days after by a combined force of game rangers and soldiers from the nearby Gabiro army training school. The fire devastated the hills of Muhoro, Nyamatete, Kajumbura, Nyiradhor and Nyungwe Valley all located in the Akagera Park. Komire said that the game rangers have now started camping in areas where the fires commonly originate from. “Game rangers have been used to staying at their patrol posts but now they have to go to the shores of the lake and in the swampy areas where the routes of poachers are.” Poachers are the prime suspects in most of the fires according to Komire. He explained that they have intensified sensitisation of the local communities about the dangers of fire in the park and the surrounding environment. Ends
