A Senior Principal Magistrate at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts has ruled in a case involving two Belgians charged with smuggling queen ants from Kenya.
The two foreigners, Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, were charged under Section 95(c) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act for unlawfully dealing with protected species.
According to court documents, the two were found in possession of approximately 5,000 garden ant queens, packed in 2,244 tubes, without a permit.
The insects, discovered on April 5, 2025, at Jane Guest House in Lake View, Naivasha, are estimated to have a street value of Ksh1 million.
The accused pleaded guilty during their arraignment on April 14, 2025.
Court fines foreigners caught smuggling ants Ksh1 M
In the ruling delivered on Wednesday, May 7, Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku fined each of them Ksh1 million, with an alternative of 12 months in prison if they default. They have 14 days to appeal the sentence.
The court further directed that, upon payment of the fine or completion of the 12-month prison term—whichever comes first—and in the absence of an appeal within 14 days, the personal belongings of Lornoy and Seppe, listed as Exhibits 1B and 1C respectively, be returned to them by the investigating officer.
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The officer was also instructed to photocopy both suspects’ passports in full and submit the copies to the court on a later date.
Once the fines are paid or sentences served, the two Belgian nationals will be repatriated by the Immigration Department.
“I find that Lornoy and Seppe pleaded guilty on the day of plea. They have accrued benefits to the court and particular, saving judicial time which is a scarce resource in the Judiciary,” reads part of the ruling.
“Section 95 (c) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act has a mandatory minimum fine for this offence. Lornoy and Seppe have shown remorse and plead with the court for the chance to put this case behind them and move on with their lives.”
Further directives
The court further directed that the rescued wildlife will be handed over to the National Museums of Kenya for appropriate handling under its protocols if no appeal is filed.
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The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) had said the teenagers were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa.
KWS said that the illegal export of the ants “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits.”
In a separate case also involving the smuggling of ants, Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku sentenced Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nguyen and Kenyan Dennis Nganga to a fine of Ksh1 million each, or in default, serve 12 months in prison.
Although the case was distinct from that of the two Belgian nationals, all four suspects were tried together.
Duh and Nganga were found in possession of ants stored in 140 syringes packed with cotton wool, along with two additional containers.
KWS in its defense against the suspects said it was not only a “wildlife crime but also constitutes bio-piracy”.
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