The government was on Tuesday, November 19, forced to take action after a number of Kenyan journalists expressed disgust about a disturbing viral video.
Earlier that day, a video of some Meru residents viciously attacking an elephant with blunt objects to a point of paralysing it, which eventually led to its death, surfaced online causing a wide outcry.
The journalists, lead by K24 TV anchor and well-known environmentalist Karen Knaust, condemned the act by locals claiming that it was an inhumane act yet the elephant was at a considerable distance from their village.
"I can’t even bear to watch this at all... We are a total failure Kenya Wildlife Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigations ... Teams on the ground We will know more soon.. We can't let this go, State House don't stay silent. We are finishing them," shared a heartbroken Knaust.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, her colleague Shiksha Arora also rebuked the act describing the perpetrators as monsters.
"All I see is monsters. No humanity left whatsoever. We have failed our wildlife, this is just wrong in every aspect. They should not get away with this
"This, in simple terms, is man’s inhumanity to a wild animal. How do you just atrociously kill our national heritage with no remorse whatsoever? What disturbs me, even more, is the fact that these criminals are free and have not been brought to book," she stated.
Other journalists who threw their weight around the movement include K24 TV anchors Eric Njoka and Betty Kyallo together with their KTN News counterpart Ali Manzu.
In response to the uproar, the state, through KWS, issued a statement clarifying that it was an old video from 2018 and that culprits escaped before they could capture them.
"KWS investigations show that this was an old video that took place at Ncooroiboro, Imenti Forest in Meru on 21st June 2018.
"On arrival, they found a dead elephant inside the farm. On enquiring about what happened, they were informed that two elephants raided the farm after breaking through an electric farm," read the statement in part.
The statement further explained that the investigations were not conclusive because the video was not availed at the same time.
