Hundreds of people from Kitui County on Saturday, March 21, 2026, attended this year’s (14th) International Forests Day celebrations held at the Kyamboo Primary School within the county’s Lower Yatta District.
Some schoolchildren were among the attendants. Forests and economies were the theme of this year.
The event had been organised by the Kitui County Environment, Climate Change, Forestry, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in partnership with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Anglican Development Services Eastern (ADSE), Kitui Development Centre (KDC), Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK), Anglican Development Relief Agency (ADRA), Kitui Teachers Training College, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) and International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) among others.
In Kenya, the Maragoli Hills, within the Sabatia District of Vihiga County, served as the country’s national venue for the event. And globally, the event was hosted by Italy’s capital, Rome.
The Kitui County Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Chief Officer, David Soi Masai, was the event’s chief guest, representing the Kitui County Governor, Dr Julius Makau Malombe. About 2,500 trees, donated by the Kitui County government, KEFRI, and KFS, were planted at Kyamboo Primary School during the function.
Addressing the event’s attendees, the chief guest, David Soi Masai, educated them on climate change. “Climate change, which is a global crisis, has been brought about by many things. Some of them (the causes) are natural. The manmade things are the ones that have brought a lot of the climate change problems,” he said.
Masai talked about the benefits of the trees. “So it is the responsibility of all of us to plant and protect the trees,” he said. “I also want to recognise all the organisers of this event,” he said.
And addressing the occasion, the acting Kitui Forest Conservator, Jacob Joseph Kongo, said the forests support millions of Kenyans through timber, honey, firewood, and shade, among many other benefits.
The forester said that forests cover some 31 per cent of the world’s land area. He asked the people of Kitui County to plant plenty of trees during this current rainy season. “We are planting the trees for the good of the current and the future generations,” he said.
The illegal logging activities are greatly threatening the forests in our county and in Kenya in general, Kongo said.
KEFRI official Eunice Kemunto also addressed the function, where she highly appreciated their (the KEFRI) partners. “We, the KEFRI, do forestry research,” she said. The expert discussed their work on dryland seeds. “We, the KEFRI Kitui Regional Research Centre, are the ones who do the dryland seeds research in Kenya,” the KEFRI official said.
Eunice Kemunto talked about the Melia volkensii among some other tree species. She regretted that indigenous trees in Kenya are becoming extinct due to human activities, including charcoal production, logging, bush burning, and deforestation.
The National Environment Management Authority Kitui County Director, Catherine Atieno Odwang, also addressed the event. “We (the NEMA) have a lot of issues that we deal with concerning the environment,” the NEMA official said.
“The land degradation in the Lower Eastern Kenya region (Kitui, Machakos and Makueni) is so worrying,” Odwang said.
“We are cutting down the trees in the region at an alarming rate, and that is why we are having bare land in the area,” she added.
The expert asked the locals to dig terraces and plant trees and grass for environmental conservation. “There is the grass that grows naturally,” she added.
The Kyamboo Primary School Head teacher, Naomi Munyoki, who also addressed the occasion, highly thanked the event’s organisers for organising the event at the Kyamboo Primary School.
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She disclosed that the learning institution, a public school, was established in 2018. “So it is a young school,” she said.
The teacher pledged that the school would take care of the trees planted for them during the function. She expressed her deep gratitude to the Kitui County government for constructing an early childhood development education (ECDE) classroom at the school “for our 43 ECDE pupils.” And she also highly thanked the area (Kwa Vonza) Assembly Ward Member Mark Nding’o for his continued support to them (the institution).
The Kyamboo Primary School has a land area of 35 acres, according to the head teacher. She disclosed that the school has a total of 178 learners, 13 teachers, and 3 non-teaching staff members.
The Kitui Teachers Training College Deputy Principal, Florence Munyasya, also addressed the function.
By Boniface Mulu
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