A provincial administrator from Narok West Sub-county has been accused of using his office to fraudulently acquire public property.

Mulot Division Officer (DO) Mr Shem Onjiri is alleged to have cut down several cypress trees within the divisional headquarters compound without following the due process.

Elders from the area have now written to the county commissioner demanding to know who authorized the cutting of the trees.

Led by Anthony Rotich and Muktar Hussein, they said it is wrong for the officer to cut the trees and ferry them to his home for personal use.

The elders regretted that if this is allowed then the compound will be cleared of trees that they helped grow in the late 1980s.

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"There were no minutes that showed the reasons for cutting the trees. Usually when one wants to cut down trees in a state property then they should apply to the Division Security Committee who in turn seek clearance from the DC. This never happened," said Rotich.

The elders now want action be taken against the officer for disregarding laid down procedures.

"Over 10 officers have headed this division but none has ever contemplated cutting down the trees. We need proper explanations from the DC as to why the trees were cut and where the timber was taken to," said the elders.

They said some of the trees were planted by former Heritage Minister William Ole Ntimama and the late Kipkalya Kones who was an Internal Security Minister then.

"We have conserved this tree for a long time and we expected the officer too to be in the fore front in conserving the environment. If we do not get proper reasons then we shall petition the government to immediately transfer this officer," said Hussein.

A source at the DO's office said the DO had claimed that the trees were posing a risk because they were too near to the buildings and were also destroying the building's roof.

"I'm told he had said the timber will be used to make benches but he cut and ferried them to his place," said the source who requested not to be named.

Efforts to contact the Narok West DC Simeon Osumba bore no fruits as he promised to investigate the matter.