President William Ruto on Wednesday ordered the dismissal and prosecution of 23 Kenya Forest Service (KFS) employees involved in corrupt dealings with the country's forest resources.
The employees include six forest managers and 23 rangers.
Dr Ruto said his government would not tolerate graft in the forest and water sectors, which have seen the destruction of such resources.
"We will not allow a few people who engage in criminal activities to deny us the opportunity to use our commercial forest and its assets to grow our economy and create jobs.
“There are forest managers and officers already found culpable. Those found either compromised, incompetent or engaging in corruption that has led to destruction of our forest assets, I have instructed the KFS board to remove them from being officers and workers of government. As DCI concludes investigations to make sure these people are prosecuted,” Dr Ruto said.
He continued: He went on: “From tomorrow, I don’t want them on the government payroll as they are saboteurs encouraging the destruction of our environment. There must be a thorough cleanup in KFS and I have instructed the Environment Ministry to ensure the tragedy that had become of environmental conservation must come to an end."
The President said his government will take all measures to protect the forests and ensure that officers with integrity continue to serve.
He was speaking in Gilgil during the passing out parade of 2,664 rangers.
This is the largest pass out parade in the history of the KFS and the new rangers are expected to strengthen the government's efforts in forest conservation, protection and management.
"We have deliberately doubled the intake of rangers in post-independence Kenya because climate change is critical and important as it poses an existential threat to Kenya and humanity," said the President.
KFS has in the past complained of an acute shortage of rangers to protect the country's forests and water towers.
The graduating recruits have undergone six months of paramilitary training in forest law enforcement approaches.
The training included a month of tactical training in harsh and rugged terrain similar to the forest environment in which they will be expected to operate.
This is designed to test them in the endurance, combat and bushcraft skills they will be expected to use in the line of duty.
The KFS is expected to play a key role in the government's plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 to combat the effects of climate change.
KFS recently appealed to the National Assembly's Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining to increase its budget allocation.
