Uganda: Entebbe forensic laboratory turns ivory seizures into convictions

In Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria, the Uganda Wildlife Forensics and Timber Laboratory has supported hundreds of investigations and prosecutions since its launch in 2019, reports allAfrica in an article published on October 4, 2026. Its method: making the DNA of seized elephant tusks speak.

From seized tusk to prosecution file

Genetic analysis and the identification of cross-hatching patterns unique to ivory allow seizures to be linked to a species, a population, and sometimes a network. "DNA reports are increasingly required by the Ugandan wildlife court," explains Patrick Chiyo, head of the laboratory, as quoted by allAfrica. The court, presided over by Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu, is one of the few specialized courts on the continent for these offenses.

The effect is measurable. After the interception in January 2025 of a 10-kilogram package of ivory bound for Cairo, the defendant was sentenced to fifteen years in prison or a fine of approximately 35,000 dollars. Without scientific expertise, this type of case often collapsed for lack of admissible material evidence.

Timber joins ivory

In April 2026, the laboratory expanded its capabilities to include timber forensics, with support from Denmark and the European Union. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been supporting the facility since 2019, alongside the TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network.

This expansion responds to a quantified emergency: Uganda's forest cover has fallen from 24% of the territory in 1990 to 13% in 2025, according to data cited by allAfrica. The trafficking of precious timber, long treated as a minor offense, is depriving the country of its forests and its revenue.

Scientific sovereignty

The story of this laboratory says something essential: the protection of Africa's natural heritage is not just played out in parks, but in analysis rooms and courtrooms, and it is being played out with African scientists. For decades, samples taken on the continent were sent to be analyzed in Europe or North America, with delays incompatible with criminal proceedings.

Entebbe has reversed this pattern. The elephants, pangolins, and forests of East Africa belong to the people who live with them; the tools to defend them had to follow the same path. What remains is to sustainably fund these capabilities and replicate them: trafficking networks are already operating on a regional scale.