Taita Taveta governor Granton Samboja has castigated Tourism CS Najib Balala for relocating 21 elephants from Solio/Sangare ranch in Laikipia to his county.
Samboja said the Tourism CS is brewing human-life conflict that has troubled residents for decades.
Balala tweeted: “In efforts to reduce #human-wildlife conflict, we are relocating some elephants from Solio/Sangare ranch to #Tsavo.”
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But Samboja said lives will be lost.
“We are tired of human-wildlife conflict in TTC. We have lost our loved ones, crops and properties destroyed,” he said on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The governor said students have performed poorly “due to absenteeism caused by fear of the uncontrolled elephants”.
The 14-day relocation to Tsavo National Park begun Wednesday and will cost Sh4.5 million.
The CS said the 13,700 square kilometre Park with just 12,000 Jumbos, can host additional 18,0000.
But Samboja said despite residents reporting attacks and deaths caused by the elephants to Kenya Wildlife Service, “no compensation has ever been issued”.
“We have hardly benefited from having the National Park which occupies approximately 63 per cent of our land,” he said.
“For this particular reason, we the people of Taita Taveta demand that the ministry revert this process.”
Samboja noted locals have faced “enough injustice” caused by “uncontrolled Jumbos”.
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