Why wildlife attack victims face longer wait for government compensation

Kenyans living near wildlife areas who have suffered losses from animal attacks may face longer waits for compensation after the government cut funding for the State Department of Wildlife in the upcoming 2025/2026 budget.

The department received Sh13.169 billion, falling short of its requested Sh16.981 billion, according to a recent report by the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Tourism and Wildlife.

The allocated funds include Sh11.805 billion for ongoing expenses and Sh1.364 billion for new development work.

The committee warned that the budget gap will force delays or scaling back of several projects, including paying human-wildlife conflict claims.

“Consequent to this, the department has to reduce its planned activities, including extending the project’s completion period, reducing verification and payments of Human-Wildlife Compensation and others,” the report reads.

The committee has called for an additional Sh1 billion to help settle pending compensation claims, currently at Sh2.7 billion.

Human-wildlife conflicts remain a major problem, especially in communities near parks and wildlife corridors.

Government records show that over the past two years, Sh2.8 billion has been paid out in compensation, with a total of Sh4.8 billion paid since 2018. Between 2009 and 2024, Kenya recorded 57,006 incidents involving conflicts with wildlife.

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said that by February 2023, compensation claims waiting to be paid had reached over Sh4.16 billion.

To improve how claims are handled, the government launched a Digital Compensation Scheme in 2024, piloted in six counties.

Victims can file claims online, and smaller payments up to Sh100,000 are sent via M-Pesa. The pilot phase will continue until November 2025.

Despite this digital upgrade, concerns are rising that the reduced budget and growing compensation backlog will limit the scheme’s effectiveness unless extra funding is provided.

Communities affected by animal invasions, often involving elephants and lions, rely on the compensation programme for recovery.

The budget proposal will now be debated in the National Assembly, where changes to funding may be made.

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