Robbery or retribution? Police investigate death of prominent conservationist in Kenya

Esmond Bradley Martin, a well-known elephant and rhino conservationist, has been found dead, apparently of a stab wound to his neck, according to multiple media reports. His wife, Chryssee, found him on Sunday in the couple’s home in a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya. The 76-year-old American geographer had been working in Africa and around the world since the 1970s to stop the slaughter of rhinos and elephants for their horns and tusks. Rising incomes in Asian markets, particularly in China and Vietnam, have driven much of the demand for carved ivory and ground rhino horn used in traditional medicines. Hunting to sate that demand has led to precipitous drops in both elephant and rhino numbers. Shocking & sad news: Esmond Bradley Martin, investigator into the illegal trade in elephant ivory & rhino horn, found murdered in his home in Nairobi. Our thoughts are with his wife Chryssee https://t.co/YzfRAIkWcb pic.twitter.com/BeYYsFzVfd — Save the Rhino (@savetherhino) February 5, 2018 It is not clear whether Martin’s death was in retaliation for his outspoken opposition to the trade of wildlife parts. According to the watchdog NGO Global Witness’s recent calculations, nearly 200 “land and environmental defenders” were killed in retribution for their muckraking in 2017. The New York Times is reporting that police in Kenya believe Martin died in a robbery. Nairobi is notorious for its crime problems, and Martin’s wife found that someone had broken into the safe in the house and cleared it out, the Times reports. Friends and colleagues remembered Martin’s…

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