Zimbabwean behind Cecil hunt due back in court

HARARE, Sept 28 A court on Monday postponed for the second time the trial of hunter Theo Bronkhorst, who is linked to the illegal killing of Zimbabwe’s most prized lion in July, after his lawyers requested that his indictment be quashed.

The hunt provoked worldwide outrage after it emerged that Cecil was a well-known attraction among visitors to the Hwange National Park and was wearing a tracking collar as part of an Oxford University research project.

Bronkhorst’s lawyer, Advocate Perpetua Dube made the application for exception basing her argument on the fact that the charge laid against her client is not only unclear, but does not constitute a chargeable offence in terms of Section 180 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.

Bronkhorst denies any wrongdoing, insisting that he had obtained all the permits required to kill an ageing lion that was outside national park boundaries.

Prosecutor Namatirai Ngwasha said that “on the state’s side, there are no changes to the case”.

Walter Palmer admitted to killing the popular lion while on a hunting trip in Zimbabwe this summer.

Bronkhorst has said the case against him is “frivolous and wrong”. He faces up to 15 years in jail.

After his court appearance Monday in the town of Hwange, Bronkhorst had a brief answer when asked by journalists if he was innocent.

He was also bailed in that case, which will be heard separately.

Bronkhorst claims that the hunt was perfectly legal and within the laws that Zimbabwe has put into place for big game hunts.