A section of Kilifi County Leaders has threatened to incite residents of Bamba to kill elephants following what they claimed as failure by the government to contain them.
Led by Minority leader of Senate who is also the Senator for Kilifi Stewart Madzayo the leaders said elephants had caused deaths of innocent locals and caused massive destruction of crops and property yet no action was being taken.
Speaking in Ndatani Village in Kaya Fungo Ward, Kaloleni constituency, Madzayo said elephants were not as important as the human beings who were suffering due to constant attacks in the area.
“If these Government people cannot protect their elephants, I will come to tell you to take spears to kill them,” he said.
He said the elephants have over the years been destroying crops in farms leaving locals in abject poverty as they depend on farming for their livelihoods.
The Senator wondered why elephants were allowed to invade farms with crops and endanger the lives of the people.
He said the locals now depend entirely on relief food because of the elephant menace and vowed never to allow them to continue suffering.
“We will not accept it, and will not fear anyone, let’s respect each other. One day I will come and tell you to go and take your spears and everything and monitor the elephants. If they invade this area we kill them,” he said.
Madzayo said as a lawyer he was ready to defend his people if they are charged with killing the elephants.
Former Bamba ward MCA Daniel Mangi thanked the Governor of Kilifi County Gideon Mung’aro, PS Fikirini Jacobs for ensuring President William Ruto visits Bamba and directed Shirango conservancy to be deregistered.
However, he said now the situation was worse as the elephants have been left to roam in the area causing massive destruction and threatening livelihoods of the locals.
Mangi said since the presidential directive of deregistration of Shirango conservancy the numbers of elephants invading the area has gone up and called on urgent solutions to bring sanity to the area.
Alphonce Mwayaa who is a former MCA of Kaya Fungo ward also condemned the continuous invasion by elephants that are allowed to roam freely in the area and also called for action to be taken against them to prevent more destruction and loss of lives.
