Photo: Collins Langat, The Star, Kenya
“The county says it will pull down billboards owned by at least five advertising firms, which it says are notorious for illegally felling trees on major roads. It plans to start this week.
Some trees even have been poisoned by toxic chemicals poured on the soil, county officials said…
The county said it will start pulling down all board standing near felled trees to ‘discipline’ companies for the illegal act.
‘This can start anytime. We cannot tolerate this,’ Agriculture executive Danvas Makori said.
‘We are going to arrest anybody cutting down trees for billboards and bring down those billboards. We’re not going to permit billboards if it means a tree or even a branch has to be cut off to put up a billboard,” he said…
‘They are now pouring chemicals under trees and after a short time, trees start withering and die. This is a new trick’ he said.
Agriculture committee chairman John Mwangi called the tree felling regrettable and said he would demand a comprehensive report.
He said the Finance sector is auditing to establish the number of billboards that are not permitted and for which companies have not paid taxes.
Ex-Governor Evans Kidero issued a similar caution following rampant felling of trees. He ordered the removal of billboards interfering with trees.’
— Julius Otieno,The Star, Kenya