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{
    "id": 1075665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1075665/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 261,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this timely Bill, the amendment to an existing Act, which is the Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No. 30 of 2020) by Sen. Mwaruma. Madam Temporary Speaker, this is a matter which is very personal to me because when I was growing up in Narok, my father who was a farmer lodged a lot of complaints to the KWS when his crops were decimated by buffalos and elephants. I was a young boy in school but until today when I am the Senator in the Republic of Kenya representing the people of Narok where most of the wild animals live, he has never been compensated. I was hoping that my good friend would bring this amendment and consider the people who have never been compensated. I do not know whether it can be retrospective but, I think it is important to be able to understand the cause of all this. Madam Temporary Speaker, we, human beings, are the cause of all these problems. As we seek to be compensated, we also must take responsibility. During the big debate on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), some of us saw an opportunity to try and bring in certain proposals on how we can minimise the human-wildlife conflict. Worldwide, people have discussed this and we were borrowing while discussing this issue of BBI. If you look at the International Journal of Science and Research, you will see a lot of research which has been carried out on how we can solve this problem of human-wildlife conflict. We have encroached into the land which was predominantly occupied by wildlife. We have also continued to benefit immensely by the tourism activities when tourists come to visit this country. We benefit a lot from Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Tsavo National Park and in Samburu, but the problem is that we, and the Executive, has never been eager to ensure that they protect the population. Madam Temporary Speaker, actions by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife have continued to impoverish populations because of ignoring the plight of people whose crops are destroyed. Human-wildlife conflict does not only revolve around a human being attacked by an animal. Destruction of property is also considered as part of the conflicts. I am happy that it has been addressed in this Bill. One of the things that really baffled me when I saw this is the time of compensation. I request my good friend to reconsider it. Hypothetically, if I am taking care of my cows, as most farmers and pastoralists would do in areas where there is wildlife, there are two dangers there. The wildebeests carry very dangerous viruses. Once they come into contact with our domestic animals, they cause a lot of problem like the east coast fever and other diseases. In our culture, we call them ingatii, because you cannot get a solution to them. This goes for buffaloes as well, and other grazing wild animals. I hope Sen. Mwaruma considers further amending his proposed amendment to reduce the time of compensation to immediately. Hypothetically, if I am taking care of my cows and I am maimed and become disabled, does that mean that my family will stay hungry for twelve months for them to be compensated? These are things we must be serious about."
}