HARARE: The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion was a “foreign poacher” who paid for an illegal hunt and he should be extradited to Zimbabwe to face justice, environment minister Oppah Muchinguri said on Friday.

In Harare’s first official comments since Cecil’s killing grabbed world headlines this week, Muchinguri said the Prosecutor General had already started the process to have 55-year-old Walter Palmer extradited from the United States.

Muchinguri, a senior member of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party, described Cecil, a rare black-maned lion well-known to tourists in the Hwange National Park, as an “iconic attraction”.

“The illegal killing was deliberate,” she said at a news conference.

“We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he can be held accountable for his illegal actions.” Palmer has admitted killing the 13-year-old lion, who was fitted with a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University study.

He said in a statement issued by a publicist this week that he had hired professional guides and believed the necessary hunting permits were in order.

The Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter has not been seen since his identity was revealed this week by Zimbabwean conservationists.

In Washington, a Zimbabwean diplomat said the embassy was not aware that extradition proceedings had been initiated by his government. Richard Chibuwe, deputy chief of the mission, said Zimbabwe takes the case very seriously and noted that two Zimbabwean men face court proceedings for helping Palmer.

On Wednesday, a Zimbabwean court charged local professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst with failing to prevent Palmer from unlawfully killing Cecil.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2015

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