| Richard (Tim) Dening was a District Commissioner in
Northern Rhodesia in the 1950s. He was responsible for administering an area the size of
Wales (20,000 sq Km) and included amongst his many duties was that of local Magistrate and dispenser of
Justice. It was illegal to hunt hippos because they were a
protected species. However, a hippo carried an awful lot of meat and so there was a
temptation for the local villagers to kill them for food.
One day, Tim was informed that a
hippo had been illegally killed with a spear within his jurisdiction, so he had to go and
investigate. The photographs below were taken at the scene. The incident resulted in Tim
trying a court case. |
