Small-scale saw millers in Nakuru County are up in arms over the alleged bias in allocation of forest trees for harvesting by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).
The traders said they had been ignored by KFS despite making pleas to the state corporation to consider them.
The saw millers, who demonstrated in Elburgon town, said there was no transparency and fairness in the allocation, and claimed rich individuals were favoured.
However, the area KFS eco-system conservator officer, Samuel Mukundi, accused the traders of disregarding the tender procedures and dismissed them as noisemakers.
“We placed tenders for disposal of mature forests and only prequalified saw millers were eligible and most of those who qualified had the right documents and it is therefore misplaced for the traders to accuse KFS of ignoring them,” said Mukundi.
But led by Edith Wambui and George Njenga, they demanded that KFS review the beneficiary list, arguing that most of the residents in the area depended on the timber sector for a living.
They pointed out that they have been involved in a re-afforestation exercise in the area and that they should be considered for allocation.
"Our pleas to KFS has not yielded any fruit and we now appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene on our behalf," Wambui said.
She added that the youth in the area had no other source of earning a living and were now engaged in illicit brews business, which is likely to ruin their health.