President William Ruto has announced the nationwide fencing of forests and habitats of wildlife in the country.
Speaking during the official launch of the human-wildlife conflict mitigation and compensation scheme in Laikipia County, Ruto directed respective ministries to identify areas that were hosting wild animals such as forests.
He instructed the team led by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua to map all the areas that need to be fenced and furnish the government with the amount needed for the exercise.
Ruto acknowledged that Kenyans had lost their lives in human-wildlife conflict, hence the need to mitigate such instances.
According to the Head of State, the fencing will be done within the next five years.
"Do mapping of all areas that require mapping so that we ensure that in the next five years, we can fence off all the areas to eliminate human-wildlife conflict.
"Tell us how much is needed and how much distance will be covered," he stated.
In the same vein, Ruto launched the construction of a 56-kilometre electric fence in Laikipia County following the rise of human-wildlife conflicts.
Construction of the fence is set to take six months.
On the other hand, the President also ordered the Ministry of Tourism to compensate Kenyans who were owed millions for human-wildlife conflicts.
He noted that Ksh3 billion was yet to be paid out to 7,000 Kenyans.
Consequently, Ruto ordered that the payments be made within the next 60 days.
