Rangers narrate ordeals as their work is saluted globally

On August 6, 2018, Isaac Kimeli woke up healthy and ready for the day's work as a forest ranger in Penon forest station, Elgeyo Marakwet.

He did not anticipate that the day would end without one of his hands.

Kimeli, who has worked as a ranger for 30 years, narrated his ordeal in a pre-recorded video during the commemoration of this year’s World Ranger's Day.

“I was at the outpost when I was alerted by a forester that some women were busy collecting firewood,” he said.

Kimeli did not know anyone who had been given the green light to harvest in the forest. He went to check what was happening.

He then engaged the women, who left immediately. And Kimeli continued with the usual surveillance.

As he was in plantation 6D within Penon forest station at around 3pm, he met a suspected logger busy at work.

“I asked him what he was doing,” Kimeli said.

“The suspect charged towards my direction, trying to cut my neck using a panga. I used my left hand to block the panga and within minutes, my left hand was gone because he cut only once,” Kimeli said.

Even though one of his hands was on the ground, he gathered courage and grabbed the panga from the suspect’s hand.

The suspect vanished into thin air.

Community members, who were then taking part in the tree cover scheme Pelis, heard a commotion and dashed to the site to find out what was happening.

“They immediately called for a motorcycle to take me to the hospital. I also called the forester, who dispatched a vehicle,” Kimeli said.

Kimeli said the vehicle arrived and he was rushed for medical attention.

He said he was shocked after learning that his hand was not there.

“I wished that he would have killed me instead of chopping off one of my arms and leaving me alive. I have tried consoling myself,” he said.

He said doing small tasks such as bathing is proving to be very difficult.

Kimeli was taken to Chepkorio Hospital, but there were some delays in the hospital.

All this time, he held the already detached hand, expecting that doctors will help put it to its rightful position.

At the hospital, Kimeli was given first aid before being taken to all the way to Eldoret Referral Hospital for specialised attention.

At the referral facility, there was a delay, too.

Kimeli was taken to Eldoret Hospital, where he was admitted.

“Doctors tried putting back the detached hand, but it was too late,” he said.

He stayed in the hospital for almost one month.

Kimeli said lack of funds made him stay longer in the hospital.

“The hospital wrote a letter to KFS Nairobi and Sh900,700 was paid and I was freed,” he said.

Even though the money was cleared, it is still being deducted from his pay slip, adding that he has to make the payment up to 2025.

Kimeli said the medical cover paid Sh300,000, while NHIF paid Sh130,000.

In total, Sh 1.3 million was needed for his medication.

Kimeli said he is yet to be compensated.

The suspect has also not been arrested despite their home being located near the forest.

Kimeli has since been transferred near his home in North Nandi so his family members can lend him a hand.

MYRIAD OF CHALLENGES

Rangers such as Kimeli face a myriad of challenges as they undertake their work of protecting and managing forest resources.

It is for this reason that the World Rangers Day was set aside every July 31 to commemorate rangers injured or killed in the line of duty.

KFS acting commandant David Chege represented Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko as well as board chair Job Chirchir during the commemoration of the event at Nairobi Arboretum.

Chege said KFS is proud of its rangers.

“We have improved forest cover as a result of our rangers,” Chege said.

Rangers have been praised for helping the country attain 12.23 per cent tree cover and 8.83 per cent forest cover, which is an improvement from the 5.99 per cent that was recorded in 2018.

The National Forest Resources Assessment Report 2021, which was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 27, 2022, at State House, detailed the success.

This year, the theme of the rangers’ day is ‘30 by 30’. It is picked from the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework that outlined a requirement that at least 30 per cent of the planet is effectively conserved and managed by 2030.

Chege said rangers work in difficult environments with scarce resources.

“In one year, we have been unfortunate to have 31 of them injured in the course of duty because they work in a hostile environment,” Chege said.

Another forest ranger died in South Nyanza as he was targeted and killed.

Chege urged members of the public to appreciate the work being done by rangers.

The acting commandant said KFS has about 2,300 rangers but has since employed an additional 2,700, who are being trained.

Some 600 foresters will also be enlisted.

KFS has, however, been grappling with a shortage of rangers.

The international recommended ratio in regard to forest protection is 1:400ha if the ranger is equipped.

However, the current Kenya ratio stands at 1:1,200 Ha, making the work of the ranger more strenuous and challenging.

KFS manages 6.4 million acres of forests and helps counties manage another 4.2 million acres.

He said there has been a challenge of low numbers to improve the service.