The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has issued a call to all victims of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) to come forward and claim compensation.
In a statement on Monday, May 12, KWS said the government has ramped up its financial commitment towards compensating those affected by wildlife-related incidents across the country.
"It was noted that in the year 2023, the government released Ksh908 million to the State Department for Wildlife for payment of HWC compensation while in 2024 KShs 960 million was released and in 2025 Ksh1.95 billion has been provided for compensating victims of HWC.
"This amount totals to Ksh3.8 billion being the single largest amount for money released by government to pay HWC compensation," the statement read.
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Following the disbursement of Ksh64 million in Kajiado on Monday, KWS has urged affected individuals to engage with the compensation process.
"Therefore, victims of human-wildlife conflict are encouraged to reach out to the State Department for Wildlife to follow up on their compensation claims and receive the support available under the ongoing national program," the statement added.
This comes just days after the Ministry of Tourism revealed it has spent Ksh2.8 billion over the past two years to compensate HWC victims.
Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano stated that as of February 2023, Kenya had outstanding HWC compensation claims totaling more than Ksh4.16 billion.
“The government has so far paid out Ksh2.8 billion in compensation since the current administration took office, leaving a balance of Ksh1.36 billion yet to be disbursed.
"However, challenges such as funding shortfalls, manual claim verification delays, and unresolved legacy claims dating back to 2014 have hampered faster resolution,” she said.
According to the ministry, Ksh908 million was paid out in the 2023/24 fiscal year while Ksh950 million was paid out in the 2024/25 fiscal year.
Additionally, around 20,000 claims currently pending at the county level, awaiting processing.
