Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa has announced that the government may consider suspending Kenya Forest Service (KFS) officers over rising concerns of forest encroachment.
Speaking during an interdenominational service in Teso North, Busia County, the CS noted that the move is being weighed following public outcry over increasing unlawful developments, particularly within forests around the Nairobi metropolis, allegedly for commercial purposes.
Barasa stressed that KFS officers have no mandate to permit construction or any non-conservation activity within forest land and should strictly focus on the protection and sustainable management of forest cover. "We will not, as a government, accept the invasion of our forests.
Any KFS officers involved in such activities must know that stern action will be taken, including possible suspension," Barasa warned.
