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From poachers to protectors
Solomon Mureithi, who was once a poacher in Eburu Forest in Gilgil, Nakuru County now a Conservationist during his interview on December 15, 2025. He was a poacher, a logger, and at one point, one of the most notorious forest offenders. BONIFACE MWANGI | NATION
What you need to know:
- The two are among the Joint Security unit-trained rangers working under Rhino Ark Charitable Trust, whose aim is to prevent illegal activities within Eburu forest.
- Eburu Forest Reserve comprises 8,715.3 hectares of prime indigenous forest area contained within the steep hills, deep valleys and rolling foothills of Mount Eburu.
For more than two decades, Solomon Mureithi knew almost every inch of Eburu Forest; the hidden trails, the quiet streams, and the animal hideouts. However, he did not walk those paths to admire nature; he went there to take from it.
He was a poacher, a logger, and at one point, one of the most notorious forest offenders. Poaching was not a crime in his eyes but a job which offered him money to fend for his family and survive.
But today, that same man rises before dawn, not to evade rangers, but to join them. He is now one of the leading community conservation champions in Eburu forest.
When Mureithi, a resident of Ndaabibi, first stepped into Eburu Forest as a young man in the early 1990s, he never imagined he would one day fight to protect it.
According to Mr Mureithi, a resident of Ndaabibi, he lived just 700 metres from the forest. He knew his way in and out, dodging forest guards, hiding from Kenya Forest Service patrols, and memorising escape routes.
He would try his luck to poach Mountain Bongo, and if he did not succeed, he would engage in illegal logging, charcoal burning, and getting bushmeat.
“Poaching was the only thing I knew that could put food on the table. No one ever told us it was wrong; we just did what we saw others doing. it was a marketplace without walls, one where timber, charcoal, and bush meat paid better and faster than any job I could find. I needed money,’ he recalled.
However, that changed in 2000, when some tourists visited Eburu forest, interacted with the locals, and he seemed to know more about the forest, since he spent most of his time inside.
He said that the tourists asked if he knew about the Mountain Bongo, and after showing Mr Mureithi a photo, he recalled seeing such an animal in the forest.
‘‘We loved poaching the Mountain Bongos since they have sweet meat. I never knew it was a rare species. They chose me to accompany them to the forest, and after our interactions, I realised that what I was doing was wrong, which was my turning point. I was brought on board as a community scout, tasked with reporting illegal activity, guiding patrol teams, and helping with restoration efforts,’ he recalled.
Now, Mureithi, 63, is an ambassador of forest conservation and has mentored more than 20 reformed poachers.
For Peter Njoroge,48, a notorious poacher in the same forest, his turning point came when he was captured by a camera trap while he was poaching and was summoned by the Kenya Forest Service officials.
He said that he was forced into poaching due to a lack of employment, and he needed to fend for his nine children.
Mr Njoroge said that days later, a neighbour informed him that he had been summoned by the forest officials since his photo had been captured.
‘I tried denying the allegations, but my photo had been circulated all over. I even went into hiding for days. I was questioned, and told them that I did that to support my family, and that is how I was recruited and taken to training in Mountain Kenya, and I joined other conservationists,’ he said.
The two are among the Joint Security unit-trained rangers working under Rhino Ark Charitable Trust, whose aim is to prevent illegal activities within Eburu forest.
In his telling, they conduct their daily activity of tracking down poachers who constantly place snares to capture wild animals, especially the mountain bongo.
They also remove snares and rescue injured wildlife. They monitor illegal grazing and charcoal burning activities. And perhaps most importantly, they educate young men from surrounding villages, discouraging them from following the destructive path they once walked.
Mr Mureithi, who is the senior among the other rangers, noted that the camera trap is a digital camera connected to an infrared sensor that detects moving objects and captures their image.
He said that the camera traps are mounted on trees in the forest and are preferably around areas frequented by wildlife, including watering holes and salt licks.
Mr Mureithi noted that the camera can capture up to 2600 images, and the memory card is retrieved every two months for reviews.
“I have six notorious members, but they are now reformed; they are champions. We underwent training, and we are now working with Rhino Ark in collaboration with the KFS. Through strategic camera trap placement, it collects valuable data about wildlife movements, habitats and behaviour. Our patrols are supported by an electric fence and community engagement programs, which have resulted in a significant reduction of illegal activities within the forest. The forest is now 95 per cent recovered,” he said.
Eburu Forest Reserve comprises 8,715.3 hectares of prime indigenous forest area contained within the steep hills, deep valleys and rolling foothills of Mount Eburu.
It is one of the 22 gazetted forest blocks that comprise the Mau Forests Complex water tower.
In light of the threats and the importance of protecting Eburu's rich ecosystem, Rhino Ark committed its support and spearheaded a dynamic conservation initiative, in partnership with the Kenyan Government, to safeguard the future of the forest.
A core component of the conservation initiative was the construction of a comprehensive game-proof electrified fence to address the human-wildlife conflict challenge.
The electric Fence construction started in March 2013 and was completed on November 26, 2014. The fence, built along the gazetted Eburu Forest Reserve boundary, is 43.3 kilometres long and completely encircles the 8,715.3-hectare indigenous forest.
Associated fence infrastructure, comprising three fence energiser houses (that hold the fence electrical power systems, accommodation for fence attendants and maintenance tools and materials stores), and 10 lockable metallic fence gates, is also fully completed.
Teams of trained fence attendants patrol the Mau Eburu fence daily, who are tasked with repairing and maintaining the fences so that they continue to prevent human–wildlife conflict and to protect the forest, providing value to the neighbouring communities and ensuring their continued support.
The fence is now acting as an effective management tool for Eburu Forest with regard to mitigating human-wildlife conflict as well as addressing other challenges facing the forest, including charcoal burning, wildfires, overgrazing and illegal logging.
Besides the critically endangered mountain bongo, the forest is also home to buffalo, Guereza black and white colobus monkey, Sykes’s monkey, leopard, bushbuck, duiker, bush baby, and tree hyrax.
