•A KWS officer said the elephants become wild once they get the smell of the bullets.
•Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire called for coordination between the officers and the community.
Image: ELIAS YAA
An operation to drive away marauding elephants in Ganze subcounty back to the Tsavo East National Park has started.
The Kenya Wildlife Service, which is spearheading the operation, hopes to drive away over 200 jumbos.
The operation started on Wednesday at Mwahera and Milore in Vitengeni division.
KWS is using a chopper with other officers supporting the operation on the ground.
Ganze deputy county commissioner Louis Rono said the jumbos have destroyed crops for the past one-and-half months.
The exercise was to start on Tuesday but it was called off due to heavy winds that made it hard for the KWS chopper to fly.
“We have received reinforcement from Lamu KWS officers. We have enough officers,” he said.
“Over 200 elephants are roaming in groups across the subcounty. In Mwahera there are 13 jumbos and in Milore we have over 40.”
The administrator said the operation was to take place in May but it was halted after it was discovered that people had camped along the migratory corridor.
“We ordered a helicopter in May but when it went round, there were charcoal burners along the area where we were to drive the elephants through,” he said.
“We did not want to pose any danger, hence we held meetings with members of the community to urge them to vacate.”
He said the jumbos are a threat to food security.
Over 100 acres of maize have so far been destroyed.
A KWS officer said the elephants become wild once they smell bullets.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she is not authorised to speak to the media, said the exercise is complicated by members of the community who are always trying to drive them away using drums.
“You get a report that there are elephants in a particular place but when you visit the place, you find a crowd of people and wait for them to disperse before you open fire for the elephants to leave,” the officer said
Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire called for coordination between the officers and the community.
Mwambire said the exercise is a temporary measure but they are working on a long-term solution.
“If people are asked to stay indoors during the operation, this is for their safety. We do not want anyone to get hurt,” he said
The MP called on Kilifi, Kwale, Tana River and Taita Taveta county governments to set aside funds to fence off the Tsavo East National Park.
Ganze has had invasion by jumbos since 2009.
He said he is already in talks with other MPs whose constituencies border the park to set aside funds from the NG-CDF to erect an electric fence around the park
“All these four counties suffer invasion by the elephants from Tsavo. We need to have an engagement to see how we will raise funds to make sure we minimise the human-wildlife conflict,” Mwambire said
Already the Arabuko Sokoke forest was fenced by the Kilifi county council in 2009 and the elephants cannot move out of the forest into people's farms.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris