Kipepeo controversy
The Malindi Sub County Security Committee in Kilifi County has launched investigations into the alleged mismanagement of a butterfly farming project at the Gede National Monument.
Malindi Assistant County Commissioner Irene Munyoki said the committee would give a verdict after listening to butterfly farmers and the curator of the Gedi Museum, Husein Aden, who is also the manager of the Kipepeo Project adjacent to the historical site. Ms Munyoki, who was flanked by Malindi Sub County Police Commander Linton Mudavadi and other senior security officers, held a meeting at the museum to listen to community complaints against the curator.
This follows disquiet between the management of the Kipepeo project and butterfly farmers who claim that they were not getting value for their labour since the amount of money they get from the sale of butterfly pupae was not commensurate to the number of pupae they deliver for export.
The farmers told the committee that they had been left in the dark regarding the running of the community project after Mr Aden removed pupae inspectors and two crucial committees – the market place committee and the finance and audit committee – and was instead working with a few handpicked individuals.
“When we heard about your complaints, we called Mr Aden to the office and he gave us a completely different version of the story. Now that we have heard your side, give us time to sift through the evidence in order to arrive at a well thought out solution,” Ms Munyoki said.
She however poured water on the demand to have the officer transferred, saying only the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) could do so after conducting due process in accordance with the organisation’s human resource policy. On Monday, a section of butterfly farmers and bee keepers held a peaceful demonstration to protest the alleged mismanagement, prompting the security committee to move in to try and broker a truce between them and the curator.
A section of butterfly farmers who attended a meeting with the Malindi Sub County Security Committee to discuss controversies surrounding the management of the Kipepeo Project domiciled at the Gedi Museum in Kilifi County.
The farmers are complaining that despite the US Dollar strengthening against the shilling over the years since the project started in 1997, the prices of pupae has gone down yet the pupae are exported and paid for in US Dollars. “When the project was initiated, one pupa was selling at one US Dollar which was exchanging at about Sh60 then, but now farmers are getting only Sh40 per pupa yet the dollar exchange rate is currently worth more than 130 Kenya Shillings,” said Mwambire Kingi, a butterfly farmer.
He said that the pupae inspectors ensured the quality of pupae before being exported while the market place committee and the finance and audit committee ensured farmers were not exploited by providing oversight. Mwambire said the curator had a poor relationship with members of the community who are expected to help conserve the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest by sustainably utilizing its resources.
Linet Mkutano said the current management of the Kipepeo Project had made Arabuko-Sokoke forest unprofitable to locals since they are not allowed to benefit from the forest resources yet they cannot farm around the conservancy due to the presence of wild animals such as baboons and monkeys.
Robert Mumba claimed that Mr Aden had resisted many transfers from the station and demanded that he be forcefully removed. Samuel Katoi called for a thorough audit of the project’s books of accounts by the office of the Auditor General and the report made public for accountability purposes.
The controversies surrounding the management of the butterfly project could mar the good name of the monument, which was recently listed as a United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural (UNESCO) site.