Keiyo North Mp threatens to Invade Rimoi Game reserve, Elgeyo Marakwet!
“Kipsanai accused the government and KWS for reneging on their pledge
to compensate hundreds of families”
Courtesy Rickshaw travel
Keiyo North MP Adams Kipsanai is now threatening to lead his
constituents to storm Rimoi National Game reserve in Elgeyo Marakwet
County to protest over lack of commitment by the national government
to compensate the displaced families.
Kipsanai accused the government and KWS for reneging on their pledge
to compensate hundreds of families who vacated their ancestral land to
pave way for the game reserve.
Speaking in the Rimoi area along the Kerio valley region, Kipsanai
decried that four decades down the line since the promise was made;
nothing has been done to address the issue of compensation.
He lamented that the former land owners have been left on their own
with successive regimes overlooking their plight despite agreeing to
surrender their property in good faith.
The MP revealed that the lease agreement signed between the victims
and KSW has expired and that they will use that opportunity to reclaim
their property.
“I will lead my people to reclaim back their ancestral land they gave
to the KWS for the national game reserve now that the government and
the wildlife agency are no longer interested to meet part of their
bargain concerning compensation,” said Kipsanai.
The first term MP also decried rampant cases of human-wildlife
conflicts which he said had led to loss of lives and property in the
past.
He castigated KWS for failing to tame the wildlife in the expansive
Rimo National Game reserve noting that the animals have been moving
out of their sanctuary and destroying crops, thus subjecting the
locals to hunger and poverty.
“Residents of this region are the most affected by perennial
human-wildlife conflicts cases and yet KWS which is the custodial of
the wildlife sanctuary has done nothing to alleviate their problem,”
said Kipsanai.
Kipsanai also complained that there were no tangible development
projects initiated by the wildlife agency for the benefit of the local
community on the ground as part of its corporate social
responsibility.
He said that he will no longer sit and watch as people he represents
in the National Assembly lose their ancestral land, accusing the
wildlife agency of only caring about the welfare of wild animals and
how to boost revenue generated from tourism.
When contacted Elgeyo Marakwet County KWS warden officer Nelson
Cheruiyot explained that their role on the issue of compensation ended
when the wildlife agency handed over the game reserve to the regional
government 10 years ago.
“The game reserve is now under the custodial of the county government
of Elgeyo Marakwet after it was handed over in 2013 and our role is
only to manage all the wild animals in the reserve,” said Cheruiyot.
He asked the MP to channel the affected families’ grievances to the
county government where they will be addressed to their satisfaction
and not KWS whose role, he argued, is to manage the wild animals in
the game reserve.
Cheruiyot further stated that prior to handing over the game reserve
to the devolved unit, they had been carrying out development projects
like construction of schools , opening up of impassable roads, and
fencing , to the community as part of the wildlife agency’s corporate
social responsibility initiatives in the region.
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