The jinxed windfall: Tana River KWS millionaires now paupers

 In 2014, residents of Kalalani village in Tana River County, were thrown into mourning when two families lost four children who were mauled to death by hyenas.

It was a sad day that caused an uproar in the county, with politicians led by then Galole MP Gorfo Kayo pushing for quick compensation for the families.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) was remorseful, and to console the families, Sh20 million was approved as compensation for the two families.

Each family was to get Sh5 million for each life lost, a deal that took an unusually short time of less than three months to complete.

Mr Ayub Gobu Dirbu, who lost three children, was paid Sh15 million, while Zakaria Balesa received Sh5 million.

Seven years later, the families have nothing to show for the millions they received, and are living in dire poverty.

Village tycoon

“When people learned that I had been paid, they started coming to me for help. Some came asking me to support their business while others wanted capital,” says Mr Dirbu.

He was the village tycoon, soft-hearted and approachable. Opportunists did not leave anything to chance.

One after the other, they borrowed tens and hundreds of thousands, while others called on him to fundraise as a guest of honour.

He was glad to help and many praised him for his good heart and came back for more, but none refunded what they had borrowed.

Known millionaire

“I was so busy with people that I did not have time to think of investing until [the] time I realised almost nothing was left,” he says.

He had Sh8 million to go and resolved to move from Kalalani village to Waldena to invest it.

Being a known millionaire, he was sold land at a high price where he put up a fairly good structure. It rents for Sh3,000 per month. He also acquired livestock to secure the little money he had left.

In the past six years, he has sold some of the animals to find money for his basic needs and only a few are left.

Despite the investment, Mr Dirbu can barely afford his children’s school fees. As a result, they look after his livestock in the forest reserve, where they get into confrontations with Kenya Wildlife Service officers.

It was a similar story for Mr Balesa. After receiving Sh5 million for the child he lost to hyenas, he kicked out his wife.

He said she had failed to light a fire outside the manyatta at night to keep the children safe. The innocent woman moved to her parents’ home with her lastborn child. A few days later, Mr Balesa married a new wife, paying a hefty dowry, close to half a million shillings, his friends say.

“He was untouchable, never listened to any advice, especially on investment. He always thought people wanted his money,” says his friend Ibrahim Saware.

His life was spent in luxurious living. He would buy five goats on a market day, roast them for meals months later, and then go for more.

Praise-singers were rewarded handsomely and at one point, he announced his interest in vying for the ward seat, a dream he dropped as time went by.

On realising he was becoming broke real fast, he decided to put up a semi-permanent house for his family and acquired a few cows and sheep.

It then crossed his mind that his quick race back to poverty could be as a result of sending away his first wife, the mother of his deceased child. He decided to bring her back, hoping that things would improve.

“I was gone for four years before he came for me. His friends advised him to. By then he had nearly finished the money,” says Fatuma Roba.

He left Kalalani village with his family. No one knew where they went, until a year later when they returned.

Difficult journey

With drooping shoulders, the family started the difficult journey of adapting to their new situation.

As though their situation was not humbling enough, their house, a key asset they had left behind, was demolished for being in a forest reserve.

Mr Balesa and his family were forcibly pushed out of the land.

Having lost everything, he built himself a new home a few kilometres from the forest reserve where he and his family now live.

“Sometimes I look at my children and how they have been deprived of education after their school was demolished, I feel pained,” Mr Balesa says.

That is not his only cry.  The man also decried being robbed by the KWS of his gains. He claimed to have suffered injuries caused by the hyena and deserved to be compensated and he intends to pursue the matter further.

“They only paid me for the child I lost, but I was injured too. I used a lot of money to treat myself,” he says in anguish.

More than 30 KWS compensation beneficiaries are in the same boat. Only a handful can account for the millions they received in damages.

Chewani Location Chief Athman Mtolee says most of the beneficiaries spent their money on luxuries.

“Some of them bought cars and would party from one joint to another. They were always on vacation. If you walk past their homes today you will see the vehicles they bought grounded,” he says.

Others, he added, drowned themselves in alcohol and spent their cash on prostitutes.

Men divorced their wives and relocated to Mombasa, only to return home broke, while others invested their money on fruitless projects.

“Some of them used the money to support politicians with the hope that their contributions would pay, only for them to be dumped after their candidates won,” he says.

He noted that the beneficiaries who wasted their money have since begun championing the narrative that the compensation was blood money, and the other residents are starting to buy into this.

Ms Margaret Achani, a guidance and counselling expert, observed that most of the beneficiaries did not get proper guidance on investment.

Quell their depression

As a result, they spent money irresponsibly, some out of excitement and others to quell their depression.

“These people are still depressed and need counselling. The position they’re in at the moment is worse than where they were before and hence the ‘blood money’ narrative,” she says.

Mrs Achani proposed that, in future pay-offs, the KWS compensation committee should work with county administrations to have financial advisers to guide the beneficiaries.

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