State on a spot over delay to pay Sh5b reparations

Lawmakers have put the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife on the spot for failing to pay in excess of Sh5 billion to the victims of human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) across the country.

This even as the MPs opened a public inquiry into the widespread cases of human-wildlife conflicts after it emerged that thousands of victims, some injured and their kin killed more than 30 years ago, are yet to be compensated for the losses.

The National Assembly Tourism and Wildlife Committee chaired by Maara lawmaker Kareke Mbiuki announced the move following an outcry by the public over the rising cases of HWC and non-payment of claims.

“We have stated that we are going to open public inquiry because this problem is affecting nearly everywhere,” said Mbiuki.

Appearing before the Kareke Mbiuki-led committee, Wildlife PS Sylvia Museiya admitted the incessant delays in the compensation of the victims of human-wildlife conflicts.

Millions compensated

Museiya disclosed that the Ministry disbursed Sh958 million for the compensation of the victims in the last financial year.

“Of the Sh958m, we have compensated Kenyans from 2014 up to 2018, there is still a big backlog,” Museiya said as she pleaded with MPs for more funding.

In the current fiscal year, the department has been allocated Sh1.1 billion for compensation of the victims.
“We are trying to clear the backlog from 2018 to 2020, but I must add because the public is here, we are not paying in full, we doing it in batches but when we get the money we will clear all the dues,” said Museiya.

This comes even as Lamu East MP Ruweida Obo Petitioners
an amendment to Wildlife Conservation and Management Act to expand the list of animals to which compensation claims can be paid.

In the amendments, the lawmaker seeks to add four sea animals – stone fish, whales, sting rays and sharks – to the list.

The current law allows compensation for the death and injury caused by elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, hyenas, crocodiles, cheetah and buffalo.

Petitioners

The lawmakers spoke during the committee’s meeting with representatives of some 5,000 petitioners seeking the August House’s intervention to compel the government to pay them. The victims who come from various counties, lamented the wild animals are wreaking havoc, killing their kin, injuring and maiming them and destroying their farms.

The petitioners, who were mainly from Tharaka Nithi, Kwale, Isiolo and Meru narrated harrowing experiences they were undergoing in the hands of elephants.

The jumbos, they said, are breaking into their firms and home; causing deaths, injuries and massive destruction.

“Elephants are roaming on the roads. They are in our farms. Our children cannot go to school because of elephants,” said Abdallah Joto, a petition from Kinango, Kwale County. The petitioners submitted that they are frequently raided by the jumbos, including those from Tanzania.

“Elephants from Tanzania are shot. They cannot be scared away by fire, nose or bells like others. It’s scary,” he added.

During the meeting, nearly all the committee members said they have personally suffered the ordeal in the hands of the wildlife. Mbiuki said that an elephant mauled his grandmother several years ago, but his family is yet to be compensated save for the state burial accorded by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

Hamisi Chome (Voi) said he and his constituents had become the hosts of the hostile jumbos.
“I’m a victim of HWC. I have been attacked and my farm destroyed. But for me, I could live with it, but my constituents, peasant farmers cannot because that is their life,” Chome said.

According to Chome, even after suffering injuries in the hands of the Giant animal, the residents are forced to undergo the tedious process of filling and paying for compensation of claims forms.
The law provides that death caused by wildlife attracts Sh5million in compensation while injuries attract Sh3million.

The top 10 species of wildlife responsible for most HWC incidents include elephants, buffaloes, hyenas, hippos, leopards, baboons, monkeys, snakes and crocodiles. Elephants are responsible for the highest incidents of crop destruction and have the highest number of reported threat incidents.

Baboons and monkeys are the leading causes of human-wildlife conflict in Kenya, with a majority of the cases reported from areas where locals depend on crop growing and livestock keeping for their livelihoods, according to KWS statistics.