A total of 15 youths in Kericho County were selected to join the Kenya Wildlife Service after a rigorous recruitment exercise conducted at the Kiprugut Chumo Stadium in Kericho Town.
Hundreds of youth turned up from all six sub-counties (Ainamoi, Bureti, Belgut, Soin-Sigowet, Kipkelion East, and Kipkelion West) for the KWS recruitment exercise with the hope of securing an opportunity to join the disciplined service tasked with conserving and managing national parks, sanctuaries, and wildlife in the country.
The rigorous exercise that was free for all aimed at recruiting qualified young and dynamic individuals as Rangers who can endure the conditions for training and deployment to various conservation areas in response to the wildlife protection challenges currently being experienced in the country.
Speaking to Kenya News Agency, the Head of Veterinary and Capture Services at Kenya Wildlife Service, Dr. Isaac Lekolool, who was the Recruitment Team Leader, disclosed that a majority of those who got disqualified did not meet some of the requirements, including the height requirement, while some were turned away for failing the physical fitness test. Others, he added, lacked original academic certificates and were thus disqualified.
“We were targeting to get 15 candidates, and we managed to achieve that. We have selected 12 gentlemen and 3 ladies who are going to report on 24th of May 2024 for training. We had large numbers of youth who turned up, and we tried our level best to distribute the slots equitably across all six sub-counties.” said Dr. Lekolool.
He said all successful candidates will undergo mandatory paramilitary training at the Law Enforcement Agency in Manyani, after which they will be deployed across the eight conservation areas (Tsavo, Eastern, Mountain, Southern, Coast, Central Rift, Northern, and Western), all under KWS jurisdiction.
“After the candidates have been trained and deployed as KWS Rangers, they will assist in dealing with the rising cases of human-wildlife conflicts near wildlife-protected areas,” he added.
The Kenya Wildlife Service Field Training School in Manyani, which is within the Tsavo West National Park, was established in 1990, and in 2011, the name was changed to KWS Law Enforcement Academy since the institution also trains personnel who undertake security-oriented duties but hails from non-conservation fields such as the Kenya Ports Authority.
By Kibe Mburu
