Agriculture CS Peter Munya: please stop sending photos of inspects you suspect to be locusts

Munya's new directive on photos Kenyans have been taking after spotting suspected locusts

Tony Mukere

January 15, 2020 1:46 PM

New sheriff in town

Agriculture CS Peter Munya

Newly appointed Agriculture CS Peter Munya on Wednesday took office and issued three new directives to announce a new sheriff in town.

Munya started off by directing Kenyans who have been taking photos of all manner of insects suspected to be locusts to stop sending it to him or to officials in his ministry.

The controversial directive was issued by immediate former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri who was sacked on Tuesday morning.

“If you see any insect that you suspect could be a locust, take a picture, post it on social media or send it to us so we can confirm for you what insect it really is,” Kiunjuri said last week.

The campaign was quickly turned into a joke as netizens ridiculed the CS and his ministry for what they regarded as a simplistic approach to a serious problem.

However, Munya was quick to announce that the Ministry would use advanced scientific methods to spot the locusts, and further called on Kenyans not to send photos to him or to his ministry officials.

"Please stop sending us photos of locusts anymore, we already have competent people on the ground who are using scientific methods to identify them,” the CS said.

He added that the ministry had already identified all the seven swarms of locusts that have been causing havoc in parts of Eastern and Northern Kenya.

Out of the seven, Munya said two had already been decimated through spraying while the five were being surveiled.

The Agriculture CS ordered the deployment of 3 more spray aircrafts which will kick off spraying tomorrow (Thursday). He added that four extra aircrasfts were in the process of being sourced from the army and which spray an additional 20,000 liters of pesticide.

Munya also moved to effect President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive for better pay for milk farmers. He ordered New KCC to start purchasing milk from farmers at the price of Sh33 - up from the Sh25 which has caused numerous complaints from farmers.

Tony Mukere