A senior Consul at the South Sudan Embassy in Kenya has advice South Sudanese women not to travel into the country with ornaments made from elephant tusks. The official noted cases in which two South Sudanese women have been arrested while entering Kenya with a bundle of bracelets.
Speaking in Nairobi during a thanksgiving ceremony organized for South Sudanese graduates of Kenya Methodist University, Mr. Kuur Garang said South Sudanese need to conform to the custom law of Kenya.
“Even if the ornaments are part of our cultural rituals, lets observe what the law says in a different context”, said Garang.
Mr. Kuur acknowledges that the tradition is only relevant in South Sudan where some communities viewed specific jewelries to carry cultural significance.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species estimates that over 25,000 African elephants across the continent were killed to supply illegal ivory markets in 2011.
Kenya faced critical challenges of an escalating massacre of elephants. The Kenya Wild Life Service (KWS) has admitted that elephant poaching has reached alarming levels and that it threatens elephant populations, tourism and economy.
With such unwanted trends, the Kenya government has resolved to ban ivory trade.
A senior Consul at the South Sudan Embassy in Kenya has advice South Sudanese women not to travel into the country with ornaments made from elephant tusks. The official noted cases in which two South Sudanese women have been arrested while entering Kenya with a bundle of bracelets.
Speaking in Nairobi during a thanksgiving ceremony organized for South Sudanese graduates of Kenya Methodist University, Mr. Kuur Garang said South Sudanese need to conform to the custom law of Kenya.
“Even if the ornaments are part of our cultural rituals, lets observe what the law says in a different context”, said Garang.
Mr. Kuur acknowledges that the tradition is only relevant in South Sudan where some communities viewed specific jewelries to carry cultural significance.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species estimates that over 25,000 African elephants across the continent were killed to supply illegal ivory markets in 2011.
Kenya faced critical challenges of an escalating massacre of elephants. The Kenya Wild Life Service (KWS) has admitted that elephant poaching has reached alarming levels and that it threatens elephant populations, tourism and economy.
With such unwanted trends, the Kenya government has resolved to ban ivory trade.