A farmer yells at an elephant that had invaded a farm at Kamukunji in Solai, Nakuru.
The compensation claims arising from human-wildlife conflict have hit Sh3.5 billion, with MPs sounding alarm over the growing backlog as thousands of affected Kenyans continue to suffer in silence due to persistent delays and chronic underfunding by the government.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly heard that the State Department for Wildlife has failed to prioritise payouts to victims, as it cited bureaucratic red tape and budget shortfalls that have stalled justice for victims for years.
Wildlife Principal Secretary Sylvia Museiya told PAC that as of 2023, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) had processed and disbursed Sh3.08 billion in compensation funds between 2017 and 2021, far below the total amount owed to the victims.
This, as it emerged that the State Department is sitting on thousands of claims, some dating back to a decade, reflects what the committee described as a systemic failure to protect communities living on the frontlines of conservation.
“We have people who have been waiting since 2014, and it is now 2025. We began with the 2014, 2015 and 2016 claims and have been working our way forward. However, we are currently processing claims from the 2020/2021 financial year,” PS Museiya said.
This means that compensation for people killed or injured by wildlife in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 has not yet begun.
Budget
Despite an annual budget allocation of about Sh900 million, KWS reportedly received as little as Sh65 million in 2018 and Sh175 million in 2017, with the PS saying that the chronic underfunding has forced the government to prioritise older claims dating back to 2014, leaving many more recent cases unpaid.
KWS has urged Lang'ata residents to be vigilant after an alleged sighting of 3 lions on Wednesday, night.
According to ministry data, over 20,000 claims remain pending, covering deaths, injuries and property destruction caused by wildlife.
The committee heard that as of mid-2023, the ministry had paid out Sh2.8 billion in spending bills but had yet to begin payments for claims from 2021–2023.
Compensation amounts vary by county, with areas of high wildlife density such as Kajiado, Taita Taveta, and Narok accounting for the largest share due to frequent human-wildlife encounters.
The PAC members, however, demanded that the PS come out clean over whether the question of the County Wildlife Compensation Committees (CWCs) actually exists and whether they're actually meeting.
“In theory, the committees exist, but are they actually meeting?” posed Rarieda MP Dr Otiende Amollo as he questioned the authenticity of the claims reported and paid, citing numerous discrepancies between reported payments and actual incidents in the field.
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This included missing records of deaths from crocodile and hippo attacks in counties like Siaya and Busia, where communities frequently report such cases.
“Your reports show only one crocodile-related death in Siaya for the year, yet I know of at least 10 cases in my constituency alone,” Dr Amollo complained, adding, “there is even a claim for elephant destruction, yet we don’t have elephants there.”
'Selective compensation matrix'
His sentiments were echoed by Funyula MP Dr Wilberforce Oundo, who criticized what he termed a “selective compensation matrix” that residents of Busia County have long suffered from crocodile and hippo attacks without redress.
“Around September 2021, there was a hippo attack in Busembe and Busito, where several people lost their lives and we buried them. Yet, these cases were never captured in the compensation claims,” said Dr Oundo.
The Funyula MP added, “even before that, we experienced numerous crocodile attacks. So why is compensation selective? Is it that the lives of the people of Busia don’t matter?”
This as Teso South MP Mary Emase challenged the State Department’s handling of pending bills, citing violations of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, which requires such liabilities to be treated as a first charge in the following financial year.
“The PFM Act is very clear, pending bills should be a first charge. You’ve given us many explanations, but why aren’t you prioritizing these payments?” demanded Ms Emase.
“If you already know the number of claims in a given financial year, why not allocate sufficient funds so that the pending bills are cleared in the following year?” she posed.
Despite the funding setbacks, the PS told the committee that KWS had recently cleared more than 20,000 pending claims through an expedited verification process conducted between May and November 2023.
But Mathioya MP Dr Edwin Mugo questioned the reported cost of Sh800 million, arguing that the funds might have been better spent directly compensating victims.
“You need to explain what exactly this money is being used for because such a huge amount could instead go towards paying victims for losses and damages,” said Dr Mugo.
The Mathioya MP also criticized the lengthy approval chain required before compensation is released, a process that currently moves from the CWCC to KWS, then to the Directorate of Wildlife and finally to the Cabinet Secretary for sign-off.
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