Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has effected the dismissal of 23 Kenya Forest Service (KFS) officers who are accused of being involved in the destruction of forests across the country.
In a briefing on Thursday, October 12 in Nairobi, Tuya disclosed the officers were dismissed after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) unearthed criminal activities implicating forest rangers, community forest associations, and board members.
"The chief conservator of forests has effected the immediate dismissal of 23 forest officers whose cases have been under investigation, and have been found to be in gross misconduct through various acts of aiding and abetting and conniving with criminals in the destruction of our forests," the CS said.
Tuya further warned forest officers against engaging in any illegal activities that might drain forest resources, promising to take legal action against them.
"We are here to warn all the Kenya Forest Service officers, including the board and the management that there will be no sacred cows. Anyone found abetting, aiding, or conniving to deplete our forest resources will face the full force of the law," she said.
The CS was acting in response to President Wiliam Ruto's orders on Wednesday, October 11, when he ordered the suspension of the officers.
"From tomorrow, I don't want them on the government payroll. These are saboteurs encouraging the destruction of our environment" said Ruto.
Tuya also highlighted some restoration programmes that the Ministry has put in place amid the onset of El Nino rains.
"We are implementing the national landscape and ecosystem restoration programme towards the growth of 15 billion trees and it will be a zero-sum game. In this short rain period, we have set a national tree-growing target of 500 million trees by Christmas," she added.
