The recent killings of hundreds of dikdiks in Tsavo National Park has cast a spotlight on the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), raising the possibility that the agency is focusing too much on protecting elephants and rhinos and leaving small game at the mercy of poachers.
Last month, five people killed over 180 dikdiks in Akales, Galana Ranch, Kilifi County. Three suspects were convicted of poaching in a Voi court and sentenced to 16 years in prison each. They were also fined Sh2.2 million.
Two weeks ago, three people were arrested with the carcasses of more than 140 dikdiks. The men were arrested at Didima Bula in Tana Delta sub-county with game poached from the Malkahalaku Community Conservancy.
Kaviha Charo, Katana Unda and Bugo Suluhu at a Voi court on July 5, 2021, when they were each sentenced to 16 years in prison for poaching.
Photo credit: Lucy Mkanyika | Nation Media Group
This brings to 320 the number of dikdiks killed in the Tsavo Conservation Area in a span of one month, further pushing the species closer to extinction.
The Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the status of the species as least concerned and their population trend is stable.
However, if the current killings continue, they will push dikdiks into the vulnerable status.
Wildlife conservationists in Tsavo are now worried about the rise of poaching for bush meat in the area.
Tsavo Heritage director Jacob Kipong'oso said the rise in bush meat poaching has been commercialised by a cartel.
"This does not involve the whole community but a few individuals who have business especially in Nairobi and Mombasa," he said.
Some of the poachers, he said, ferry the game meat using trucks to avoid being caught by police.
"There is a need to sensitise the communities to name these individuals so they can be arrested," he said.
He said game meat poaching started increasing three years ago, noting that the trend endangers small game.
More worrying is how poachers manage to escape the tight KWS security to camp inside protected areas with motorcycles, tents and household utensils.
Some of the assorted hunting tools arraigned at Voi Law Courts in Taita Taveta County on June 21, 2021
Photo credit: Lucy Mkanyika I Nation Media Group.
"In the past they used to get into ranches and park using vehicles but they are now using motorcycles," he said.
The poachers often use improvised flashlights with enhanced high-powered LED lights to catch the animals, whose meat they then sell in the black market.
“We cannot blame KWS, because they cannot be everywhere inside the vast park," he said.
A KWS officer, who sought anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media, said there is progress in fighting game meat poaching.
He said citizens resorted to poaching to sustain their families when breadwinners lost their jobs because of the effects of Covid-19.
He also said they had deployed officers to monitor hotspots around the park and intensified patrols in and outside the park, leading to the arrest recently of several culprits in connection with poaching.
Joshua Ladapash at the Kibera law courts.
Photo credit: Joseph Ndunda | Nation Media Group
"We have a team investigating the current spate of poaching cases for bush meat," he said.
Last year, the department of wildlife announced that game meat poaching had increased after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government said the number of locals engaged in poaching had increased following the loss of jobs due to the effects of the disease.
The African Wildlife Foundation legal officer in the Tsavo Conservation Area, Benson Mutua, said the increase is further reflected in the growing number of people found with illegal game meat in the area.
The majority of perpetrators were locals, he said.
"The recent convictions by courts will act as a deterrent. The numbers are worrying but we hope that the arrests and confiscation will serve as a lesson," he said.
In the recent poaching case in a Voi court, Principal Magistrate Cecilia Kithinji said the harsh sentences imposed on Kaviha Charo, Katana Unda and Bugo Suluhu were meant to serve as a lesson for such perpetrators.
"Wildlife is our heritage and such acts will endanger the species and thus there is a need to ensure that they are protected," she said.
