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{
    "id": 405975,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/405975/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 78,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Gichigi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1909,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Kamunye Gichigi",
        "slug": "samuel-kamunye-gichigi"
    },
    "content": "God-given natural resources, our posterity will not see an elephant or a lion. The only thing that brings foreign exchange, through tourism, in this country might not be there in a few years to come. Perhaps, the rate of extinction of our wildlife is brought about by a combination of several factors. My colleagues, who have spoken before me, have mentioned a few of them. One of them is lack of ownership of wildlife by the communities that live with the animals. For many years, and even now in some areas, wildlife lives outside designated game parks. They live with human beings and domestic animals. Hon. Speaker, I am happy that this Bill has provided for a joint management of these wild animals between the KWS and the communities in the same manner as the recent reforms in the forest service. It is important that we involve the communities. We must devise ways of informing the public so that it can realize that animals are not always its enemy. One way of doing that is giving sufficient compensation. The Bill proposes a maximum of Kshs1 million for compensation for loss of life. We need to align this with what is happening with the Bill that we have just passed, that is, the one on motor vehicles third party risks. At least, Kshs3 million is paid with regard to loss of life. In addition to that, when it comes to other injuries, because that has not been provided for, I propose that during the Committee of the whole House this Bill be changed. It should be limb by limb, eye by eye and so on. Any injury that is compensated by this law that we have just completed in the Second Reading should be similar to what is provided here. We could just refer to that other Bill we have just passed. I am happy that poaching has been dealt with seriously. In December, I happened to visit the Mount Kenya Ark. I met the KWS officials and the team which is there to protect wild animals. They reminded me, “Go and pass that law so that a poacher killing our elephants, rhinos and lions serves life imprisonment.” I am happy that the Committee has come up with that particular provision. Therefore, any person who is killing our elephants, as we speak is actually sabotaging the economy of this country. Before so long, we might not have an elephant left in this wonderful country of ours. Let us have these serious punishments in place. I would like to urge the courts to consider jailing, more than the fine of Kshs20 million that has been proposed in this Bill. It is also important that this Bill be amended to provide for areas where we have private conservancies. You keep wild animals and they go and harm our people. It is important that we have a common insurance which must pay people who are hurt or injured or lose their crops to wild animals. The KWS, if I compare it to other natural resource managements like the forest service, has been doing a better job. They can have their blame because obviously the poachers have got the better of them, but we also need to look at the resources that are at their disposal vis-à-vis what they are doing. Hon. Speaker, I support this Bill. Let us preserve our heritage. I will not say like my colleague hon. Mbadi has said. Let us not encourage our people to kill wild animals just because they are out of the parks. Let us enhance the mechanisms of KWS with regard to dealing with those animals so that where that is not done, we compensate people adequately. I support."
}