Kajiado residents camp on elephants’ corridor to kill the jumbos

Kajiado County’s Olomunyi residents are now guarding their primary school over increasing fears that elephants might attack them.

They say the elephants that have encroached their land have threatened their lives to the point that they cannot go about their daily chores freely. KWS officials have warned them against killing the jumbos which are already endangered by poaching.

Marshalling support to ensure that their children attend school without failure, the residents fears are compounded by the fact that the elephant that they say is roaming free in the neighbourhood has been at it for three years now.

While KWS officers stand on guard warning the residents not to kill the jumbos, the locals say their patience is wearing thin day by day.

The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act of 2013 stipulates that; “Notwithstanding anything in this act, it shall not be lawful for any person to kill or wound any wild animal in the defense of himself or any other person if immediately and absolutely necessary.”

The law goes on to state; “The burden of proving that a wild animal has been killed in self-defence shall lie with the person who killed or wounded the wild animal.”

The KWS officers are caught between their core duty to protect the jumbos whose numbers are dwindling at a fast rate due to poachers and a community’s quest to protect itself, a situation made worse by human encroachment on game reserves and wildlife corridors on the one hand and the harsh weather conditions that sometimes drives the same animals to human settlements as they search for water and food.