President William Ruto on Friday directed the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials to address the concerns raised by Kilifi residents.
Speaking at a rally in the county, the Head of State ordered the officials to work handily with the Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro and other leaders to find a lasting solution to the tiff between the wildlife service and the residents.
During his speech, the president put the officers on notice and vowed to make prompt realignments within the wildlife service.
According to Ruto, the sole function of the KWS officials was to provide solutions to the challenges facing the residents and not to cause harm to them.
"I have heard these KWS officials are disturbing you. I will deal with them because they are supposed to serve Kenyans and as long as the citizens are law-abiding, they should not be harmed,” Ruto reiterated.
“We will sort out that issue, and it must be immediate. So I direct the KWS to work with the MCA, MP and Governor to sort out the mess,” he directed.
President Ruto further urged the residents to embrace peace and desist from engaging in any form of violence and promised to work with the leaders from the coast region.
"I have come here to request your permission to allow me to work with your leaders including Governor Mung'aro and Hassan Joho for the betterment of the coastal region," Ruto stated.
Meanwhile, President Ruto's directive to the KWS comes hardly three weeks after the residents of Kilifi expressed concerns after an elephant invaded their residence and reportedly killed a local.
The residents called on the KWS to help address the matter which had since caused panic among them. They proposed the construction of an electric fence to prevent the animals from invading their farms.
Speaking to the press, the residents expressed displeasure with the wildlife service's failure to address their grievances.
According to the residents, they thought the recent rains experienced in the county would drive back the animals into the Tsavo Forest but that was not been the case.
