Protest, relief as ship with baobab trees sails

Since the debate on the deal to export live baobab to Georgia started last November, scenes of regret prevail among the farmers in Tezo and Majaoni in Kilifi South constituency.

Farmers like Macdonald Munga, who sold the tree to Kilifi-based tycoon Gvasaliya at between Sh100,000 and Sh300,000, feel cheated by the deal.

"The Kenya Forest Service failed to enlighten us about the tree hence we saw money. We sold before interrogating the benefits the buyer will accrue over the years," he said.

Farmers in Kilifi have over the years complained about the tree, describing it as a nuisance. They say the trees do not support inter-cropping because of their huge branches and leaves.

James Kahindi, like other landowners, says he is unable to get customers to buy his ten-acre land due to several baobabs dotting it.

In a recent interview, Kahindi from Majajani village along the Mavueni-Kaloleni road, said his land was not appreciating in value because of the many baobab trees on it.

"Land prices are surging in the area. A quarter of an acre goes for Sh2.5 million. But investors have shied away from my land due to the cost of uprooting these trees," said Kahindi.

"I needed that money to support my family because all our savings were wiped out during the Covid-19 period. I never imagined that the rates could have been even higher," he added in regret.

The baobab has a spongy trunk meaning it cannot be used as timber or to make charcoal, which is another major economic activity in most parts of Kilifi County.

"You commenced uprooting and export of baobab trees without acquiring an Access Permit amounting to a breach of the EIA licensee condition and the requirement of regulations 9," read the letter from Nema dated November 3.

This is after Environment CS Ms Soipan Tuya said the deal violated the International Convention on Biodiversity as well as the Nagoya Protocol of which Kenya is a signatory.

The deal to export the live trees to Shekvetili Dendrological Park Limited in Ureki, Ozurgeti in Georgia, the eastern end of the Black Sea also attracted the attention of Parliament.

A parliamentary committee visited Kilifi south and grilled top government officials in sessions held at the Kilifi County Assembly chambers.

During the sittings, it emerged that baobab trees were not a protected tree species in Kenya, and were not listed on Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) appendices.

Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, in whose constituency Tezo falls, has also supported the farmers' decision to sell the tree saying residents did not break any law in selling the trees.

This week, Kilifi south was a beehive of activity as two trucks with trailers transported the trees along the Malindi-Mombasa highway to a jetty at Bofa Beach where they were loaded onto the ship.

And on Saturday, KFS said Gvasaliya got permission to export the gigantic trees after meeting all the equipment spelled out in international treaties.

"KFS cleared the transportation after the client met all the legal and Nagoya Protocol requirements," Ms Anne Kaari, KFS communication officer in a brief reply to our inquiry.