Prince Harry could face pressure to step down from the board of an African conservation charity after it was hit with a series of abuse allegations.
Current and former staff at African Parks have lifted the lid on what happens behind the scenes and claimed that armed rangers use torture methods to extract information from poachers. Author Olivier van Beenman conducted interviews as part of a three-year investigation into the organisation - which receives funding from British aid, US billionaires and celebrities. His new book called, Entrepreneurs in the Wild revealed the extent of the shocking allegations.
The Duke of Sussex was named as the president for six years before he was promoted to the governing board of directors in 2023. As part of his new duties, he has shared responsibility for overseeing the charity's policy and supervising its management of 22 national parks in partnerships with governments across African countries.
The book, written in Dutch and published by Prometheus Amsterdam, was published after African Parks confirmed that an investigation was launched into different claims of rape and torture by its guards in the Republic of Congo. Beenman painted an unsettling picture of those involved in the day-to-day runnings of the park, which is deployed by rangers, with an agreement of African governments to halt ancient traditions of local communities.
Ex-ranger, Foster Kalunga, who worked in the Zambia park for five years until 2022, alleged that he and his co-workers used a torture method known as kampelwa or “the swing”. He said the abuse helped them force the suspected poachers in Liuwa Plain National Park to offer up information, reports The Times.
He told the author: "Sometimes we use kampelwa. Then you tie someone up, hands and feet tied together, behind his back, and you hang him on a stick between two branches. And then you spin him around while you hit him. It doesn’t last long because it hurts a lot. When he hangs there he says everything you want, even things he doesn’t know.”
African Parks disputed the allegations and said Kalunga had been discharged for gross misconduct. They said they didn't know what the torture method was. Other allegations from staff claimed that the abusive approach to protect wildlife was shaped by instructors, mainly white and from Israel, France or South Africa.
Etienne Koliwa, who worked for ten years in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said they viewed poachers as “the enemy” who needed to be “neutralised”. African Parks doubled down again and said that Koliwa was dismissed for poaching a buffalo and a warthog on duty.
African Parks who boast of having a “business approach to conservation” caught the attention of the author who wanted to take a closer look at their ambition and structures. It was also revealed that the organisation use pay deals such as bonuses with armed confrontations with poachers. The charity confirmed it uses “primes” or incentives to motivate its rangers.
Van Beemen commented on his findings and said:“My investigation shows that African Parks is an opaque organisation with numerous human rights allegations made against them, including torture and rape, but is not open to external criticism. I think Prince Harry and others on the board should question the organisation’s model, its practices and governance and reconsider their own roles.”
In response, African Parks said the book was “deeply flawed”. The charity continued: “African Parks has been in operation for more than 20 years, with long-term agreements with 12 different sovereign governments and numerous traditional authorities. We have received funding from most of the global institutions … all of which require detailed vetting processes, as well as intermittent grant audits.”
The Mirror has contacted the Duke of Sussex and African Parks for comment.