The misadventure of Paolo Brondi, the retired Italian frequent visitor to Watamu who was stopped at Mombasa airport with an ivory figurine, has fortunately marked a happy ending.
The tourist from Turin had been in detention at the airport police station since last June 16 on charges of "illegal possession of a trophy of wildlife of endangered species," after the ivory object weighing 600 grams was found on his arrival in Kenya, with a value indicated at around 15 thousand euros but later recognized to be much lower.

Brondi, who was convinced that the transport of that very object, purchased in Kenya more than 30 years ago when the ivory trade was not yet illegal, was permitted by law, had immediately proclaimed himself guilty...of gross naivety.
Mombasa Court Judge Martin Rabera, bewildered by the statement, had not been very soft, prospecting Brondi at a minimum a sentence ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.
Crucial, in recent days and prior to the hearing on Friday, July 1, was the intervention of the Italian Embassy in Kenya, which succeeded in convincing the Mombasa High Court of the good faith of the pensioner originally from Turin and suggested contextualizing the fact as precisely a naiveté. Paolo Brondi was cleared of all charges and released without paying fines. The case was finally dismissed.