A high court in Zimbabwe dropped charges against a professional hunter who led the expedition that killed Cecil the lion in 2015. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Twitter

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A high court in Zimbabwe dropped charges against a professional hunter who led an expedition that killed a beloved lion named Cecil, sparking international outrage of the death of the big cat and a call for a ban of trophy hunting.

The court ruled the charges against Theo Bronkhorst, including failing to prevent an illegal hunt, were "too vague to enable him to mount a proper defense." Bronkhorst led the expedition that included Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, who paid some $50,000 to shoot the animal and skin it. Officials said Cecil was lured from Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, Hwange National Park, where it is illegal to shoot animals, and killed July 1, 2015.

Bronkhorst's attorney, Perpetua Dube, said the high court judge decided "the charges as they were brought at that time were not properly constituted."

"He's agreed with us on that point. And that is all there is to it," she said. "It's not an acquittal, so it doesn't have that effect."

Zimbabwe officials originally said they would charge Palmer but later dropped the plan. </s> A Zimbabwean high court has dropped charges against the professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst, who led the expedition that killed prized lion Cecil last year, his lawyer said Friday.

"The high court has said the charges were flawed and, therefore, should be set aside," lawyer Perpetua Dube told AFP.

She said the judge had ruled Thursday that the charges "did not constitute an offence.

The high court ruling followed an application by Bronkhorst's lawyer for a review of a previous decision by a magistrate's court to have him tried over the 2015 hunt which led to the death of the iconic lion renowned for its distinctive black mane.

The hunt provoked worldwide outrage after it emerged that Cecil not only was a popular attraction for visitors to famed Hwange National Park, but that he wore a collar as part of an Oxford University research project.

Bronkhorst, 53, had been charged with "failing to prevent an illegal hunt" when American trophy hunter, dentist Walter Palmer, paid $55,000 to shoot the lion with a bow and arrow in July last year.

Zimbabwe decided not to charge Palmer after it emerged he had legal papers allowing him to hunt.

Bronkhorst denied any wrongdoing, saying he had the required permits to kill an elderly lion that was outside the national park boundaries. Cecil, who was 13 years old, was killed outside the reserve, which is not fenced. </s> Harare - A court in Zimbabwe has agreed to drop the charges against the professional hunter involved in last year's high-profile killing of Cecil the Lion, Theo Bronkhorst's lawyer said on Thursday.

Bronkhorst led US dentist Walter Palmer on the hunt that resulted in the death in early July 2015 of Cecil, a magnificent black-maned lion from Hwange National Park.

Cecil's death sparked a global outcry and a backlash against the big game hunting industry in Africa.

Bronkhorst was accused of failing to stop the hunt.

Lawyer Perpetua Dube told News24: "The charges that were brought by the state in August last year have been set aside."

"There was no full trial but the [High Court] judge has decided that the charges as they were brought at that time were not properly constituted. He’s agreed with us on that point. And that is all there is to it," she said in a telephone interview.

"It’s not an acquittal, so it doesn’t have that effect," she added.

Bronkhorst's lawyers had applied to have the charges against him dropped last year when the Zimbabwe government said it would not pursue Palmer over the case.

Said Dube: "I think [Bronkhorst] is relieved… this has been a pretty harrowing experience for him. It’s been a long year." </s> Walter Palmer, a lifelong big-game hunter from Minnesota, touched off a global controversy when he killed Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, with a bow and arrow outside Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe in July last year.

While Zimbabwean authorities said Palmer had legal authority to hunt, they were stung by the international outcry and charged local hunter Theo Bronkhorst, who assisted Palmer, with failing to prevent an unlawful hunt.

Bronkhorst's lawyers then applied to the High Court in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo to set aside the charge, arguing it could not have been an offence under the country's wildlife laws if Palmer had a permit to hunt.

"The court granted us that prayer yesterday - that the charges be quashed. So I cannot imagine the state coming back again charging him with the same charge," said Lovemore Muvhiringi, a lawyer for Bronkhorst.

Cecil had been fitted with a collar to track his movements but strayed outside the confines of Hwange National Park and was then shot. Bronkhorst was accused of laying bait to lure Cecil out of the park. Palmer said at the time that no one in his hunting party realized the targeted lion was Cecil.

Wildlife hunting is an important revenue source for the southern African country, which is grappling with its worst shortage of cash since it dumped its inflation-ravaged currency in favor of the U.S. dollar in 2009.

Conservationists worldwide were outraged when Zimbabwe's government announced in October last year that Palmer would not be charged over Cecil's killing because he had obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt.

But the government said Palmer would be free to visit Zimbabwe only as a tourist, not a hunter, in future, implying he would not be issued the required permits. </s> Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has sacked the country’s chief prosecutor, Johannes Tomana, after a tribunal found him guilty of misconduct and incompetence, the BBC reports.

Local media say he will now face trial for criminal abuse of office.

His removal came after he dropped charges against two army officers accused of plotting to blow up a dairy belonging to Mr Mugabe’s wife, Grace.

The two men were among four arrested outside the dairy farm, north of the capital, Harare.

They were found carrying ammonia and petrol bombs.

The men were initially charged with possession of weaponry for sabotage, and with money laundering for terrorism purposes. Charges of treason were added later.

The four were accused of hatching a plan to set up a militia base to the west of Harare, with the aim of unseating Mr Mugabe’s government.

Mr Tomana was accused of obstructing the course of justice by releasing two of the suspects, which he denied. In 2015, Mr Tomana was convicted of abuse of power after refusing to prosecute a lawmaker with Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party for raping a child at gunpoint. He was threatened with 30 days in prison over the matter, but eventually agreed to act. The legislator, Munyaradzi Kereke, was later convicted of rape and imprisoned.

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Also, Like us on facebook </s> Image copyright JEKESAI NJIKIZANA Image caption Prosecutor Johannes Tomana will now face a High Court trial for criminal abuse of office

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has sacked the country's chief prosecutor, Johannes Tomana, after a tribunal found him guilty of misconduct and incompetence.

Local media say he will now face trial for criminal abuse of office.

Mr Tomana was suspended back in February 2016.

His removal came after he dropped charges against two army officers accused of plotting to blow up a dairy belonging to Mr Mugabe's wife, Grace.

The two men were among four arrested outside the dairy farm, north of the capital, Harare.

They were found carrying ammonia and petrol bombs.

The men were initially charged with possession of weaponry for sabotage, and with money laundering for terrorism purposes. Charges of treason were added later.

The four were accused of hatching a plan to set up a militia base to the west of Harare, with the aim of unseating Mr Mugabe's government.

Mr Tomana was accused of obstructing the course of justice by releasing two of the suspects, which he denied.

In 2015, Mr Tomana was convicted of abuse of power after refusing to prosecute a lawmaker with Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party for raping a child at gunpoint.

He was threatened with 30 days in prison over the matter, but eventually agreed to act.

The legislator, Munyaradzi Kereke, was later convicted of rape and imprisoned. </s> Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has sacked the country's chief prosecutor, Johannes Tomana, after a tribunal found him guilty of misconduct and incompetence.

Local media say he will now face trial for criminal abuse of office.

His removal came after he dropped charges against two army officers accused of plotting to blow up a dairy belonging to Mr Mugabe's wife.

He was accused of obstructing the course of justice, which he denied.
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In 2015, Mr Tomana was convicted of abuse of power after refusing to prosecute a lawmaker with Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party for raping a child at gunpoint.

He was threatened with 30 days in prison over the matter, but eventually agreed to act.

The legislator, Munyaradzi Kereke, was later convicted of rape and imprisoned. </s> THE HAGUE (Reuters) – International Criminal Court judges on Tuesday acquitted former Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo of all war crimes charges and ordered his immediate release in a blow to prosecutors who have lost other major cases in recent years.

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said prosecutors failed to prove their case against Gbagbo and co-defendant Charles Blé Goudé, a close ally and former political youth leader, who were ordered to be set free.

“The majority finds that the prosecution has failed to demonstrate there was a common plan to keep Mr. Gbagbo in power that included the commission of crimes against civilians,” Tarfusser said.

Outside the courthouse, dozens of Gbagbo supporters, many who travelled to The Hague by bus from Paris, broke into cheers and dancing when the verdict was announced.

“Ooh-la-la, the judge completely dropped the charges,” said Gbagbo supporter Olivier Kipre in the Ivorian capital Abidjan.

“I’m so joyful. I will become crazy today because I didn’t believe he would be released.”

Gbagbo was the first former head of state to stand trial at the ICC.

Acquittal was a major setback for the prosecution, stung by defeats in cases against Jean-Pierre Bemba, the Congolese ex-vice president released last year after his war crimes conviction was overturned, and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who had charges against him dropped in 2015.

Prosecutors have only won three war crimes convictions over the past 15 years.

Gbagbo, 73, and Goudé, had been on trial since 2016 for war crimes allegedly committed under Gbagbo’s leadership.

The former leader faced four counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts during post-electoral violence in Ivory Coast between December 2010 and April 2011, when Gbagbo refused to accept defeat by rival Alassane Ouattara.

“There is no need for the defence to submit further evidence as the prosecutor has not satisfied the burden of proof,” added the judge Tarfusser.

Gbagbo heard the ruling dressed in a dark blue suit, and the judge had to order supporters in the public gallery to calm down as they erupted in cheers.

Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Ange Aboa in Abidjan; Writing by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne </s> Judges at the International Criminal Court have acquitted former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo of crimes committed following disputed elections in 2010.

The court in The Hague also acquitted the country’s former youth minister Charles Ble Goude, saying prosecutors failed to prove their case.

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser ordered the immediate release of the 73-year-old Gbagbo and Ble Goude, following the judgment mid-way through their trial.

Mr Tarfusser said a majority of the three-judge chamber ruled that “the prosecutor has failed to satisfy the burden of proof” against both men.

Lawyers for Gbagbo and Ble Goude asked judges last year to acquit both men for lack of evidence at the end of the prosecution case in their trial that began just under three years ago.

Mr Tarfusser later suspended his order ahead of a follow-up hearing on Wednesday, when prosecutors are expected to announce whether they will appeal.

Gbagbo was the first former president to go on trial at the global court and his case was seen as a milestone in efforts to bring to justice even the highest-ranking leaders accused of atrocities.

Mr Tarfusser said it was a matter of public record that Ivory Coast was wracked by post-election violence in 2010 and early 2011, but he said prosecutors did not present evidence that Gbagbo and Ble Goude formulated a common plan for their supporters to unleash violence.

More than 3,000 people were killed after Gbagbo refused to accept defeat by his rival and current Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.

As Mr Tarfusser announced the acquittals, supporters of Gbagbo and Ble Goude stood up and cheered in the courtroom’s gallery. Supporters of Gbagbo outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)

The ruling was the latest defeat for prosecutors at the world’s first global war crimes court.

The case against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was also accused of involvement — before he became president — in post-election violence in his country, collapsed in December 2014.

Last year a former Congolese vice president, Jean-Pierre Bemba, was acquitted on appeal of crimes allegedly committed by his militia in neighbouring Central African Republic.
A Zimbabwe high court judge drops charges against Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter who led the expedition that resulted in the death of the lion named Cecil, because the prosecutor's filing was not properly constituted, and was "too vague to enable (the defendant) to mount a proper defense."