As Kipng’etich exits, spotlight on structural defect of KWS

By Steve Njumbi

Picture this: the Director of Veterinary Services (DVS) has just finished chairing an early morning meeting where he has been updated on how many cattle rustlers were killed this week by his elite Veterinary anti-stock theft rangers, how many of his men were injured or killed and then presides over operational orders to curb increased livestock theft at Suguta Valley of West Pokot.

Sounds unreal for a departmental head who is not part of the police or military forces? Well that is exactly what the Director of a similar department, the Kenya Wildlife Service, does on a weekly, and if need be, daily basis.

Going back to the DVS, his main job is to deliver professional veterinary advice and services to livestock owners ranging from extension services to farmers such as vaccinations, artificial insemination, spays and neuter campaigns, setting animal welfare standards for pet owners, and general education and policy setting on matters of livestock keeping.

If we laddered the DVS with the additional task of ensuring that livestock, mostly cattle rustling is stamped out, he will have ‘little’ time for the core extension veterinary services listed above.

By its very nature, taking up the role of police work, that involves life and death of human beings, automatically means other services and matters are given a secondary role.

Far too big

That is what has happened to KWS since its creation in 1989; its anti-poaching role has outgrown all other core conservation matters and today KWS is better known for its reputation as an armed fighting machine.

Of its 4,000-strong staff force, up to 3,000 are uniformed dedicated to security compliance and enforcement.

Can you imagine Titus Naikuni being saddled with the responsibility of ensuring Kenya Airways aircraft are not attacked by terrorists or hijackers?  We have the Kenya Airports Police Unit to do that, which then allows Naikuni to concentrate on his core business – passenger flying.

Nor is the Director of Tourism directly responsible for visitor security – the Kenya Tourist Police Unit takes care of that. And we have other specialised police units taking care of our country’s strategic interests such as Presidential Police Unit, Kenya Railways Police Unit and even the Anti-Stock Theft Unit. 

That the Director of KWS is then expected to ensure wildlife security is, I think, a major structural defect that needs immediate recognition and correction otherwise KWS will continue to be the kichinjio that it is for anyone appointed KWS Director.

Be it the decisive Dr Richard Leakey, or the focused conservation mind of Dr David Western, or the brilliant management strategist Julius Kipnge’tich, none can succeed simply because the onus of killing criminals is far too big a task, and technically/operationally wrong, for it to be left to a departmental head.

The world over, killing and dealing with armed criminals is the duty of national government – either the police service, or the military depending on the kind of aggression.

There was a history as to why KWS came to have an anti-poaching unit, which was the utter corruption of the previous Wildlife Conservation and Management Department  and failure of its sister Wildlife Protection Unit in the 1980s and early 1990s that saw Kenya sink to a graveyard of wanton slaughter and poaching of elephants and rhinos.

Core functions

But the wildlife sector needs to wake up from this hangover and return to its core mandate of wildlife management – effective parks and reserves, community wildlife conservation outside protected areas, research and planning, and conservation education. These are the core functions. Wildlife security is important but it is the remit of police. Or the military when need be. 

The writer is Head of Programmes at IFAW East Africa.