Victims of the human-wildlife conflict will soon receive their payout in record time following the introduction of a new administrator.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua introduced a consortium of companies that will pilot a new wildlife claims administration scheme

He said the move is aimed at making the compensation process for victims efficient and responsive to citizen’s needs.

A number of claims have yet to be processed

“We have paid Sh908 million to the victims in the financial year 2023-24, and we will continue paying,” Mutua said.

The state will soon start to pay out another Sh950 million for the financial year 2023-24

The consortium will collect all data related to the conflict and the processing of wildlife damage claims

The slow pace in the processing of claims and the manual nature of data collection, leading too many errors and omissions, have informed the new move.

Should the new pilot succeed, payment for claims for crop and livestock property will take place in 30 days if documentation is in order.

For death or injury, the payout will be within 90 days.

This comes as a reprieve for victims and relatives who have lost their loved ones and property, and have had to wait for more than 10 years to be compensated

The law provides that deaths caused by wildlife attract Sh5 million in compensation, while injuries attract Sh3 million.

More than 14,000 claims are yet to be addressed, something that has created mistrust between communities and the state, which is yet to settle more than Sh5 billion in compensation claims.

The new model will be piloted in Meru, Kajiado, Narok, Taita Taveta, Laikipia and Baringo counties.

Wildlife Principal Secretary Silvia Museiya said there is need to expedite compensation claims.