The Kenya Wildlife Service has two days to rid Maasai farms of elephants, Kajiado Governor Joseph Lenku warned yesterday.
“Failing this, my people will defend themselves against the jumbos that have left a trail of destruction wherever they have passed,” he said.
Lenku said KWS has no option but to drive the elephants back to the parks. He was accompanied by acting county commissioner David Kipkemei and Mashuuru deputy county commissioner Stephen Nyakundi. The trio addressed armed Maasai morans in Imbuko location, Mashuuru subcounty, on landing from a KWS chopper.
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The morans killed two jumbos from the Amboseli National Park in Imbuko location last Saturday. They had warned KWS against leaving the elephants to invade their farms.
Their leader, Peter Lesalaon, said their children are no longer going to school because the elephants from Amboseli and Chyulu Hills have invaded every place. Imbuko location lies along a wildlife corridor. Wild animals migrate from the Amboseli Park to the Tsavo National Park during this period every year.
The morans had said they killed seven Jumbos that had invaded their farms on Saturday, but Kajiado county warden Dickson Korir dismissed the claims, saying only two died.
“We are investigating the cause of the deaths of the two jumbos that were found in Imbuko location on Saturday morning. It is too early to apportion blame to anyone, but it has to wait until we establish the cause,” Korir told the Star.
He, however, confirmed that jumbos have invaded the eastern part of the county and have recently been destroying crops and trees on private farms.
“The ongoing drought situation has forced wild animals out of the parks and they are now moving in hordes to private farms in search of water and pasture,” Korir said.
On Saturday, Lenku told KWS to fence the parks to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. He accused KWS of fueling the conflicts.
“Thirty-seven people have been killed in the past one year, while many more have been maimed by these animals that stray onto farms. The KWS has given affected families a deaf ear on compensation,” he said.
Lenku accused rangers late last year of banning herders from grazing their livestock in the parks. He said residents have continued to host zebras and other herbivorous animals on their farms without complaining, but KWS has failed to reciprocate.