The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has strongly denied accusations of ranger misconduct in Bungoma County after a report claimed officers were blackmailing residents for favours in exchange for firewood access.

In a statement issued Tuesday, February 10, 2026, KFS said no formal complaints or reports of such incidents have been received or recorded by the agency, the National Police Service, or any other law enforcement authority.

“The Service also notes with a lot of concern that the allegations have remained general without giving specific sites, stations, dates of occurrences or even identities of alleged perpetrators of sexual violence,” the X post read in part.

They added that routine supervision, patrols, and administrative checks conducted across forest stations within the Mt. Elgon forest ecosystem did not reveal any evidence to support claims of sexual exploitation or any form of gender-based offences by forest rangers.

Responding to references about Chepkurkur Primary School and alleged SLDF-related cases from 2007, the KFS dismissed the claims as unlikely.

The agency explained that the school lies roughly 12 kilometres away from the forest edge, making it unrealistic for young pupils to trek that far in search of firewood.

Moreover, the KFS dredged up a 2023/2024 investigation by relevant government agencies, claiming that while the agencies therein scrutinised the issues of the high rate of early pregnancies in schools within the region, they did not mention or associate the high rate of pregnancies among school-going girls to firewood collection in gazetted forests.

Regarding the SLDF activities in 2006–2008, while the SLDF was accused of perpetrating many atrocities, including gender-based violence (GBV), there was no single case on record implicating forest officers.

Moreover, the agency claimed that all forest officers, including rangers, were consistently briefed and guided on professionalism, ethical workplace standards, strict adherence to the law, and relevant regulations. 

On top of that, KFS officers also received training on the human rights-based approach to managing forest resources.

In the exposé, Bungoma leaders, mothers, GBV, and sexual abuse victims all accused KFS officers of sexually exploiting desperate female members of the Mt. Kenya Forest ecosystem.

However, the forest authority assures all its stakeholders, and especially forest adjacent communities, that KFS does not condone or in any way abet any form of GBV and any reported case will be thoroughly investigated to restore the dignity of the victim by taking severe legal action against any perpetrator of such acts.