Metro

Kenya: At least 3 killed as Kajiado County residents protest over wildlife invasion

Published

2 years ago

June 3, 2022

The police in Kenya have confirmed that four persons were killed on Thursday after men of the force opened fire on a crowd of protesters in Kajiado County.

Mashuru police commander Charles Chepkong’a said “three were killed at the scene while the fourth died in hospital,” while seven others were injured and admitted to a local hospital following the fracas in the Masimba area.

The protest was reportedly triggered by the incident of an elephant killing a teacher in the area which angered locals and prompted protest, particularly for what is believed to be a lack of action from authorities.

Kenya is rich in biological diversity to which wildlife resources contribute a significant proportion. Many of the regions with abundant and diverse wildlife communities remaining in East Africa are occupied by pastoralists.

One of the residents, Kajiado said “elephants are causing destruction every day, and our children are not going to school as they are killed by elephants all the time and all the schools are closed due to the elephant invasion.” Another resident said.

The issue escalated with residents burning tires and barricading the busy Nairobi-Mombasa highway for hours, leading to major traffic that stretched for more than five kilometers and paralyzed operations.

One of the protesters lamented over the alleged ill-treatment the community has received from the police in an attempt to stop the protest.

“The police have killed us and we have suffered. Some women were pregnant, and are suffering from the tear gas used by the police. People are being killed.”

Wildlife populations in Kenya are decreasing at an alarming rate as land use and cover changes, increasing numbers of livestock and over-grazing put pressure on rangelands. Unless drastic improvements are urgently made, this loss is expected to escalate.

Although wildlife tourism is a major source of revenue for the Kenyan economy. Recent studies show that the majority of the local people around protected areas have negative feelings about state policies and conservation programmes. Authorities must therefore build the facility capacity to manage the situation to avoid contacts that endanger the animals or humans.

Related Topics:Featured Kajiado County Kenya Kenya Police

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Metro

All my tough policy decisions are in Nigerians’ interest— Tinubu

Published

23 mins ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has insisted that all his tough policy decisions and reforms have been taken with the interest of Nigerians at heart.

Tinubu, who made the assertion in Hague, The Netherlands, during the business session of the bilateral meeting with the Dutch team led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, insisted that though some of the policies had brought hardship on Nigerian masses, he was not afraid to implement more of such policies as they would yield positive results in the end.

“I am a determined leader of my people. I am ever ready to take tough decisions in the best interest of the people, even if with initial pains,” Tinubu said.

“I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain.

“We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.

“The Nigerian naira is one of the world’s best-performing currencies today.

“We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us.

“They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new opportunities for development.

“As leaders, we must make decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that.”

The President also noted that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity rather than one-sided relationships in which bilateral trade is skewed too much in one direction.

Metro

Nigeria govt cancels 924 dormant mining licences

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s minister of mines said on Wednesday that 924 expired mining licences had been cancelled immediately.

The country now wants investors to apply for the affected permits, which will be given out on a “first come, first served” basis.

In a statement, Mines Minister Dele Alake said that 528 exploration licenses, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licenses, and 273 small-scale mining licenses would be impacted.

As part of major changes in the mining industry, more than 1,600 mining titles were taken away in November for not paying the required fees.

Alake said that the action was taken to stop “licence racketeering,” which is when people or businesses buy titles to minerals that are worth a lot of money and then sell the licenses to the highest price.

“By creating a secondary, black market to pawn mineral licences, the unsuspecting and unwary investor is misled into believing that he can only obtain licence by patronising the black market. This discourages investment,” Alake said.

“It is our belief that this decision will sanitise the licensing system by penalising those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar, he added.

Nigeria wants to attract investors to a mining industry that hasn’t been developed much in the past. To do this, they are giving incentives like not having to pay taxes on profits and sending them back to Nigeria in full.

Nigeria has had trouble getting value from its huge mineral riches because it didn’t invest in or take care of them.

After making it harder for foreign companies to get mining licenses last year, Africa’s biggest oil provider will only give them to companies that process their minerals in the country itself. The country is also rich in lithium, gold, and limestone.