•The county security committee has set out plans to control the invasion of the protected area by herders.
•The influx of herders from other counties has previously been linked with conflict, poaching and insecurity.
Image: SOLOMON MUINGI
Herders in Taita Taveta have been warned against grazing inside the Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks.
County commissioner Lyford Kibaara said despite the prolonged drought, grazing inside the protected area might fuel human-wildlife conflict in the region.
Addressing journalists in Mwatate on Tuesday, Kibaara said the county security committee has set out plans to control the invasion of the protected area by herders.
“We have instructed all the subcounty security committees to be on high alert and monitor the movement of all animals coming into the county. Any attempt to enter the parks should be stopped,” Kibaara said.
The influx of herders from other counties has previously been linked with conflict, poaching and insecurity in and around ranches.
Illegal grazers in the expansive twin national park have been blamed for persistent human-wildlife conflict.
The administrator asked residents to report to authorities any herds being moved to the area, saying herders must have a prior agreement with ranchers to avoid conflict with residents.
“The security team will never entertain any plan by herder to graze on farms and ranches without consent. Such cases have caused mayhem in the past,” Kibaara said.
Illegal herding in the county has been a thorny issue over the years with hundreds of camels and cattle herders flocking the disease-free region every dry season.
A Senate’s Security, Defense and Foreign Relations report in 2019 disputed security organs in the county for failing to provide security to locals.
The committee was investigating cases of alleged murder and assaults of locals by suspected camel herders.
It recommended that all grazing agreements between herders and ranchers be disclosed to the county security committee.
“All grazing agreements entered between individuals, ranch owners and livestock herders should be deposited with the County Government, the County Commissioner and the County Police Commander,” the report reads.
The committee further recommends that grazing corridors be gazetted and protected as communal lands that are usually a rich source of dry season grazing.
Taita Taveta government should come up with regulations to guide the utilisation of the grazing corridors.
The county has been faulted for a lack of clear regulations to protect farmers from invasion by headers who forcefully graze on the farms, destroying crops.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris