THE UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG

national level. At the local level victims of violence become easy ploys and acted as pawns
for manipulative politics. 380 The above observation is however, important in making an
analysis of the current trend. Currently the existing central institutions paint a picture of
autonomy and increased vigilance although it is still suspect to make a well grounded
conclusion towards the same effect.
In an expert opinion interview with Dr. Samuel Kasiki, it was pointed out that rare species of
birds and animals in the forests have since disappeared due to the massive encroachment. This
arises out of the fact that there is habitat destruction. Environmentalists have warned that if
urgent measures are not taken, forests like Mau will disappear in the next decade. This will
leave the national biodiversity threatened. Destruction of Mau forest for instance is one of the
products of patronage politics, yet it serves as a catchment area for many rivers in Kenya and
Tanzania. It was partly the reason why the Cabinet recently heeded to the environmentalists’
call and took a radical action to save the crucial forest – a water catchment source. 381
It has been reported in the local media such as the Daily Nation that former politicians and
benefactors of these client-patron transactions, who are at the verge of losing them have
turned to indiscriminate destruction of the indigenous forests, with trees of 100-plus years
being felled by illegal loggers, using powerful chain saw machines to cut trees from these
once flourishing protectors of the country’s biological diversity, a scenario that continues
unabetted. Rivers that once crossed these well conserved forests have since dried up with
Lelongo dam, which was meant to supply the entire Nairagi Enkare area five kilometres
away, holding only rainwater during the rainy seasons. In a key informant interview with Dr.
Oyieke, the Director Centre for Biodiversity at the University of Nairobi, She informed that:
One is able to count several river channels cutting through the hilly topography, a sign that
the complex was a water catchment area for many rivers. This is a great danger to the
national ecosystem and biological resources. Countless tree stumps, pieces of gigantic logs
and rotting tree branches dot the complex – a testimony to the massive encroachment that
the forest has been subjected to for many years. 382
The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), the lead agency working to
enforce evictions, listed politicians such as Narok County Council officials as the facilitators
of illegal logging in most of the central forests. NEMA insists that such politicians are to
blame for the mess because the same local governments are sometimes not helpful. Most local
government officials are accused of conniving with the encroachers. Such a scenario frustrates
conservation efforts. One of the NEMA officials, Mr Joseph Masinde was interviewed for this
study. He noted that local council officers have been colluding with Members of Parliament
of the former KANU government to distribute parcels of forest land in return for favours
380
Flurent, P. 1985. The Social Organisation of the Water resources Control in the Taita Hills, Kenya. American
Anthropological Review.
381
Key Informant Interview with Dr. Samuel Kasiki, Reserch Scientist, Kenya Wildlife Services. 26 Sept
2005.
382
Key Informant Interview with Dr. Oyieke, Centere for Biodiversity,University of Nairobi. 30 Sept 2005
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