Police hold six 'poachers' over British pilot's murder

Simiyu regional police commander Gemini Mushy

Police are holding six people in connection with the shooting and killing of a British helicopter pilot on Friday last week in the Maswa Game Reserve adjacent to |Serengeti National Park.

Roger Gower (37) was flying the 5HFGF chopper over the reserve when he was fired upon by suspected poachers who are believed to have just killed three elephants within the reserve’s boundaries.

Simiyu regional police commander Gemini Mushy told The Guardian yesterday that they had arrested six people who had confessed to killing the pilot.

“We have been in pursuit of the suspects since the incident happened, and they admitted during interrogation that they had a hand in Gower’s murder,” said Mushy while also confirming that the six were indeed poachers.

Gower’s death has caused an uproar within Tanzania’s tourism sector fraternity with calls growing for a stronger government commitment and more rigorous supportive anti-poaching training programme for park rangers.

The pilot is said to have successfully brought the helicopter down inside the reserve despite the gunshot wounds he suffered, only to pass away before rescuers found their way to the scene.

Pictures that circulated online showed the badly-damaged remains of the aircraft lying on its side, including a blood-stained bullet hole in the pilot's seat.

Nicky Bester, a South African friend who accompanied Gower on the flight, is said to have taken cover in a thicket after the chopper landed.

He has since been admitted in a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya where he was taken for treatment of minor injuries sustained in the incident.

Meanwhile, Gower’s relatives were reported to have arrived in Arusha to oversee burial arrangements.

“Tanzania had a special place in Gower’s heart…that is why his relatives are in town to make a decision over where to bury him,” said Pratik Patel, an official from the Friedkin Conservation Fund which owned the ill-fated helicopter.

A former accountant, Gower was a qualified pilot who has lived in Africa since 2006 and has been involved in British Army exercises within