HARARE – Zimbabwean authorities are facing mounting scrutiny over the apparent inaction to extradite Li Song, a Chinese national accused of orchestrating cyanide-based wildlife killings, who vanished after skipping bail in 2024.
Li, who was arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) for allegedly importing large volumes of cyanide under false pretenses, is now a fugitive. A Harare magistrate issued a warrant for her arrest in August last year after she failed to appear in court. Prosecutors say she misrepresented the importation of sodium cyanide, a highly toxic substance used by poachers to kill elephants and other wildlife.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, police have remained tight-lipped. In a telephone interview, National Prosecution Authority of Zimbabwe spokesperson Angeline Munyeriwa said: “The docket for Li is now in the hands of the police. We forwarded the warrant of arrest to the police for action. Our role is to prosecute only.”
Efforts to obtain a comment from police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi have gone unanswered since March. Questions about whether Li had crossed the border, and if Interpol had been engaged, have also been ignored. Observers say the silence fuels suspicions of official protection.
Li, born in Henan, China, on 20 January 1972, arrived in Zimbabwe in 2003. She began as an interpreter for the Chinese construction firm China First, which she later acquired after it was liquidated. Over the years, she became a well-known figure in Harare’s elite circles and reportedly claimed her father was a Chinese army general—an assertion that may have granted her considerable influence.
Sources allege Li enjoyed the backing of senior government officials, a factor that may explain the sluggishness in enforcing her arrest. Zimbabwe ranks among the world’s most corrupt countries, placing 158th out of 180 in Transparency International’s 2024 corruption index.
Her 2024 case involves DGL9 Investments Pvt Ltd, a mining company where she was a director. Along with a co-accused, Bernadette Mukuku, she is alleged to have falsely declared that a shipment of cyanide and lime was for the company, avoiding more than $40,000 in customs duties.
The case—initially heard in Bulawayo under number BCR05/03/24—was later moved to Harare under unclear circumstances. Meanwhile, cyanide poisoning has continued to plague Zimbabwe’s wildlife. In Hwange National Park, where over 50,000 elephants roam, poachers have used the substance to deadly effect for more than a decade. In 2013 alone, more than 300 elephants were killed this way.
“The use of poison in illegal wildlife trade is always a concern because not only is it a silent and effective way of killing animals, but the knock-on effects within the ecosystem are large,” said Nathan Webb of the Wildlife Conservation Coalition, a group operating in northwestern Matabeleland.
Elizabeth Valerio, a conservationist and political opposition leader, said the scale and sophistication of wildlife poaching operations indicate involvement from powerful individuals. The Hwange-based conservationist and leader of the opposition United Zimbabwe Alliance recalled how trains used to stop randomly along the railway line in the national park to pick up ivory. She suspects that the ivory came from elephants killed through cyanide poisoning, and that the scheme had the backing of powerful individuals.
“Cyanide poisoning has been going on for over a decade. Some of these activities had far higher authorities behind them,” she said.
Li has also been linked to the controversial export of 100 elephant calves to China in 2017 and is said to have claimed ties to the late President Robert Mugabe’s family. When asked to comment on her alleged role in the exports, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said, “The issue of Li Song is a matter before the courts and we cannot be seen to be commenting.”
Farawo did confirm that Zimbabwe last exported elephants to China between 2018 and 2019 under a trade agreement.
Li’s legal troubles go beyond wildlife-related crimes. Her former partner, Italian businessman Francesco Marconati, has accused her of fraud, theft, and money laundering. In a 2022 case, he claimed she forged an invoice from South African chemical supplier Cure Chem Investments. Another case, alleging she siphoned over $800,000 from jointly owned businesses, remains unresolved.
Despite these allegations, police have made no visible efforts to pursue her or clarify whether steps are being taken to bring her to justice.
Attempts to reach Li via email in April went unanswered. She was asked if she intended to return to Zimbabwe to face the charges and if she was aware of the warrant for her arrest.
Meanwhile, proposed changes to the Wildlife and Parks Act aim to penalize the use of poison in poaching for the first time. “The use of poison in illegal wildlife trade is always a concern because not only is it a silent and effective way of killing animals, but the knock-on effects within the ecosystem are large,” said Nathan Webb of the Wildlife Conservation Coalition, an association of organisations whose mandate is to provide a collective and united voice for conservation in northwestern Matebeleland. Li has faced a series of serious allegations beyond wildlife crimes, including fraud, forgery, theft of trust property, money laundering and even attempted murder. Despite the gravity of the accusations, they have not been pursued by authorities.
For now, Li remains at large — and conservationists say time is running out to hold perpetrators accountable before more irreversible damage is done to Zimbabwe’s fragile ecosystem.
dailymaverick with edits for brevity
