The Coast Parliamentary Group (CPG) has called on the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to expedite the creation of a grazing corridor in Yakaliche Village, Garsen Constituency, to address the persistent human-wildlife conflict in the area.<\/p>\n
The legislators, led by CPG Secretary-General and Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza, marched to the Coast Region Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) offices in Mombasa to present a protest letter.<\/p>\n
This followed the killing of an elder, Issack Jarso Delo, allegedly by a KWS officer on December 29, 2024.<\/p>\n
According to eyewitness accounts, the elder was killed in his homestead in front of his family, contrary to KWS\u2019s claims that the incident occurred in Tsavo East National Park.<\/p>\n
The MPs blamed the escalating conflict on the lack of designated corridors for herders to access pasture and water within the park.<\/p>\n
They urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to expedite investigations and prosecute the officer involved. Additionally, they demanded that KWS compensate the deceased\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
Tandaza condemned the killing, accusing the KWS Director General of ignoring President William Ruto\u2019s directive for harmonious coexistence between communities and wildlife during his visit to Tana River.<\/p>\n
He noted that water scarcity forces herders to venture into parks, and the President had ordered the creation of grazing corridors to address this challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is unacceptable that herders are harassed, and their livestock confiscated, despite livestock being a critical resource and source of livelihood for our people,\u201d said Tandaza.<\/p>\n
He criticized the slow progress of the DCI, stating that the identity of the alleged perpetrator is well-known, with witnesses having already recorded statements.<\/p>\n
He also highlighted a similar case in Kwale, where the officer involved was merely interdicted instead of being prosecuted.<\/p>\n
Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki defended Garsen MP Ali Wario against accusations of incitement by KWS. Faki argued that Wario was fulfilling his responsibility by addressing issues affecting his constituents.<\/p>\n
However, in a press release on December 30, KWS accused Wario of inciting the community to \u201cillegally invade\u201d the park with promises of acquiring land.<\/p>\n
Faki welcomed the DCI\u2019s decision to confiscate 23 firearms from KWS for ballistic examination but insisted that the officer involved in the killing must face justice. Wario, meanwhile, reiterated his commitment to representing his constituents, stating, \u201cIf addressing these issues is considered incitement, let it be so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba called on KWS to mark park boundaries clearly and to use firearms only against poachers, not pastoralists.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuns are for dealing with poachers. If a stray elephant can be subdued with sedatives and returned to the park, why is a human being shot dead?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Bedzimba also suggested refresher training for KWS officers to better understand their responsibilities.<\/p>\n
KWS Senior Warden for the Coast Conservation Area, Vincent Ongwae, acknowledged receipt of the legislators\u2019 letter.<\/p>\n
He assured them of KWS\u2019s commitment to resolving the matter amicably and professionally while working closely with communities living near parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a strategic plan to address such issues and are committed to building resilient ecosystems. I am confident we will resolve this matter swiftly,\u201d said Ongwae.<\/p>\n
The post Coast MPs demand justice for elder killed by KWS officer<\/a> appeared first on KBC<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Coast Parliamentary Group (CPG) has called on the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife to expedite the creation of a grazing corridor in Yakaliche Village, Garsen Constituency, to address the persistent human-wildlife conflict in the area. The legislators, led by CPG Secretary-General and Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza, marched to the Coast Region Kenya Wildlife Services […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}