A photo of President Uhuru Kenyatta and US Secretary of State John Kerry walking between two ornamental elephant tusks at State House has caused a stir online and underlined the tragic irony of Kenya’s fight against elephant poaching. Many Kenyans are shocked that State House would still be hanging on to decorative ivory tusks – authentic or not – given its vigorous campaign against elephant poaching.
How do we lobby against poaching when even State House uses Ivory for decoration? #KenyaEnergyCartels pic.twitter.com/QMvplWOADx
— Robert ALAI (@RobertAlai) May 5, 2015
@paulakahumbu How do you convince anyone that he/she should not use Ivory for decoration when State House uses the same? @LeftistPolitics — Robert ALAI (@RobertAlai) May 5, 2015
As long as state house are going to keep those Ivory decorations, they should stop yapping about protecting elephants…
— Charles Otieno-Hongo (@OtienoHongo) May 5, 2015
So what message do we send about protecting elephants when State House is decorated with Ivory? @paulakahumbu@robertalai — Charles Otieno-Hongo (@OtienoHongo) May 5, 2015
That’s not the only irony in the photo though because, just a day before visiting State House, Kerry had taken a photo with a baby elephant at the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage.
Made a new friend at @DSWT Elephant Orphanage in #Nairobi National Park. pic.twitter.com/Q8RVqM4roZ — John Kerry (@JohnKerry) May 3, 2015
Impressed by animal preservation efforts led by Angela Sheldrick and her family at @DSWT Elephant Orphanage. pic.twitter.com/EwzWNDaALC
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) May 3, 2015
It’s a delicious bit of irony that’s hasn’t escaped the attention of Kenyans.
That awkward moment when you take a selfie with a baby elephant then you later walk past the mum’s tusks #Muchinapic.twitter.com/rdvX2gASAP — Yā Sīn (@CollinceBey) May 6, 2015
Its not the first time that the presidency’s double-speak on elephant poaching has come to light. In July 2013 it emerged that two security officials at State House Mombasa were complicit in the theft and sale of ivory worth millions of shillings from one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the country. At the time it was revealed that the a GSU officer and caretaker at State House Mombasa had colluded to steal ivory from the building. One of stolen the pieces was said to weigh as much as 100 Kgs.
How guards stole #ivory from #StateHousehttp://t.co/oCdSzpJgsl#poaching#Kenya — Daily Nation (@dailynation) July 21, 2013
All these incidents seem to underscore a situation where State House doesn’t walk the talk on elephant poaching.
Why do we not discuss the ivory in @StateHouseKenya? Or GoK record of enabling poaching? http://t.co/iUAiZCJwD2https://t.co/QXLK3iBbyL
— gathara (@gathara) May 5, 2015
In early March Uhuru burnt 15 tonnes of ivory as a headline-grabbing demonstration of the country’s zero-tolerance stance on ivory poaching. Nevertheless, the presidency’s wavering support for the fight against elephant poaching has had its effects. Just recently it emerged that some of the ivory pieces seized in Thailand had previously been in the custody of the Kenyan police as evidence.
Today on #WorldWildlifeDay Kenya Burns 15 Tons of Ivory to Curb Poaching of Elephants http://t.co/GNmx9auky6 pic.twitter.com/OYUy7wz2LB
— Big Life Foundation (@biglifeafrica) March 3, 2015
Tusks were court evidence, say Thai officials http://t.co/IuydaEPn3q#Ivory#Kenya#Thailandpic.twitter.com/Eqg1qSlSmp
— Daily Nation (@dailynation) May 3, 2015
Its clear that State House is sending mixed messages on ivory poaching. On one front they are saying Kenya won’t stand for ivory poaching while on the other “don’t these tucks looks cool at State House?” Its frankly unacceptable. The president needs to understand that the fight against poaching is a battle for hearts and minds. Its a fight in which a substantial number of people have to convinced that tusks look better on elephants than on humans (or for that matter at State House).
