A farmer in the Kiptenden area of Cherangany Constituency, Trans Nzoia County is living in fear of losing her entire maize farm following the invasion of fall armyworms.
According to the farmer, Lilian Tum, her neighbour Simion Koskei is to blame for the invasion now threatening her entire investment whose value is yet to be established.
Koskei is said to have picked several armyworms from a nearby farm that he had gone to relieve himself and later dropped on Lilian’s farm estimated to be around 20 acres.
The worms have since multiplied and destroyed a huge portion of the farm.
In an exclusive interview with Uasin Gishu News, the farmer said the worms pose a serious threat to her household food security and economic status.
“Simon did this malicious act just to bring me down. My crops were doing very well before he dropped the armyworms in the farm,” Tum said.
She pointed out that she had already engaged experts from the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure her farm was armyworms free by spraying it with relevant chemicals only for the neighbour to start the invasion.
“I am still shocked by this unusual act. My farm did not have even a single worm but now they are all over the place,” she added.
Malicious destruction of property
Confirming the incident, Kibuswo Assistant Chief Gilbert Chepsiror said the culprit had already confessed to dropping the fall armyworms to the farm.
He has since been arrested and is expected to be arraigned in court to face charges of malicious destruction of property.
“It is true the man committed the offence and we shall soon present him in court to face charges. He did this with the intention of destroying Mama Lilian Tum’s crops,” Chepsiror said.
On her part, Zenah Kosgei, the Chepsiro/Kiptoror ward Agricultural Officer said they are still doing an assessment to find out the extent of damage caused by the worms.
“Our preliminary assessment indicates that the maize in the tussling stage has been destroyed more. As soon as we finish our assessment, we shall prepare a comprehensive report that will inform the next course of action,” Koskei stated.
Remorseful
The man behind the unfortunate incident has however said he did not know it would result in such a huge damage.
“I innocently dropped the worms after picking them from another farm and I dropped the last worm at the edge of Madam Tum’s farm,” he admitted.
“I am very sorry and therefore ask for forgiveness and I know my actions have caused a lot of losses,” Koskei added.
Section 339(1) of the Penal Code provides that an individual found guilty of willfully and unlawfully destroying or damaging any property is liable if no other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for five years.
