By Omotayo Edubi
Narok Court in Kenya has fined two men Ksh 50,000 or serve 11 months imprisonment each, for illegally felling indigenous cider trees in the Sanangori area of Mau Forest in Narok County on Monday.
Douglas Maroto and Amos Kiplangat who appeared before Narok Chief Magistrate Samuel Mungai pleaded guilty to the charges of cutting forest produce in government forest, contrary to the Forest Conservation and Management Act.
The two were arrested by Forest Protection Officers while in possession of 11 cedar posts which they curved out after cutting down the trees without any authorization, license or permit.
An officer from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), James Kwambai informed the court that the area affected is an important water tower and therefore the court should apply a stiff penalty to the offenders to discourage others.
The court heard that on March 2, 2022, at around 4:30 pm at Sanangori area of Mau Forest within Narok North Sub County, the two jointly with others not before the court were caught cutting down forest produce using two pangas, one axe, one mallet and one metal chisel, without a permit from chief conservator of forests.
The duo, who are first-time offenders, pleaded for leniency claiming that they were new in the area and as they were looking for jobs they were misled by others.
They both reiterated that they will never repeat the act again and asked the court to consider a community service punishment.
The Chief Magistrate took all matters into consideration and denied them a non-custodial sentence.
“Forest produce theft is very serious and is to be discouraged to conserve the environment,” he stressed.
Magistrate Mungai ordered each of them to pay a Ksh 50, 000 fine or serve 10 months of imprisonment.
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