Patrick Mathangani
11 August 2004
Nairobi — Communities in 15 districts neighbouring wildlife conservation areas yesterday strongly opposed plans to privatise the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
Their umbrella organisation, the Kenya Human Wildlife Conflict Management Network, said the move amounted to auctioning the national heritage to foreigners.
The network said wildlife belonged to the people of Kenya, and asked President Kibaki to step in and stop the sale.
KWS's commercial wing is reportedly to be sold to a group of UK investors, who have presented their bid to senior government officials.
The wing rakes in an estimated Sh800 million annually, and the investors will collect fees if their bid goes through.
The alleged investor behind the bid, Mr Andrew Hind, has denied any link to the KWS takeover plan.
Yesterday, the network's national chairman, Mr Sidney Quantai, said if the KWS must be privatised, Kenyans should buy it.
"Why are we in love with foreigners? What animals remain in Europe today? None because they killed all of them a long time ago," Quantai said at a news conference at Chester House, Nairobi.
Quantai, who read a statement signed by members from the 15 districts, said local communities should be empowered to manage wildlife, which they have done effectively in the past.
He said private wildlife managers could not be trusted, as they have recently strongly campaigned to have the ban on hunting wild game lifted.
He claimed that the same people had drafted the Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill 2004 to sway the law in their favour.
The network claims that KWS has been mismanaged for a long time and added that it could only be salvaged by allowing more participation of local communities in wildlife management.
The network noted that only 20 per cent of wildlife lives in protected areas, while the rest is found on private farms and areas inhabited by humans.
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