This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
Published on December 6, 2019, a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has shed light on the alarming rate of mukula timber logging in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The EIA alleges that Zambian President Edgar Lungu, his daughter, and several ministers are central figures in an illicit network driving the illegal trade.
According to the EIA, the state-owned Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation Limited (ZAFFICO) is being used as a cover for Zambian and Chinese business operators to export thousands of mukula logs.
The group estimates that at least 2,000 cubic meters of mukula were smuggled out of Zambia per month from June 2017 to May 2019, generating around $7.5 million in bribes and informal fees per year.
"If not dismantled, this mukula cartel has the power to derail the international protection recently granted to the rare African trees," said the EIA.
"At the current rate of exploitation, the rosewood species may soon be extinct," the agency warned.
Lungu's administration has denied the allegations, with Lands and Natural Resources Minister Jean Kapata calling the report "fake" and stating that she was "deeply upset" by its content.
Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has called for Zambia to "wake up" and recognize that its leaders are "a government of thieves".
