Amboseli takeover: Maa governors warn conservation groups against sabotage

Elected leaders from the three Maasai counties have warned conservation groups in the country against any attempt to sabotage the takeover of Amboseli National Park by the Maasai community.

Led by governors, Joseph Ole Lenku (Kajiado), Patrick Ntutu (Narok), Jonathan Lelelit (Samburu), the leaders reiterated that the presidential decree to return management of Amboseli to the Kajiado County government must be expedited with immediate effect.

Accompanied by 11 MPs and more than 30 MCAs from the three counties, the governors said at a thanksgiving service held inside the park that they would protect the wildlife and benefit the local community with the more than Sh1 billion in revenue generated annually.

The interdenominational prayers were led by the head of the Anglican Church in Kenya, Archbishop Jackson Sapit, and more than 20 bishops from the three counties on Sunday.

The President's move is expected to ease the human-wildlife conflict that has recently escalated with locals repeatedly killing animals including lions and elephants.

"We thank the President for correcting one of the most discriminatory historical injustices meted out to the Maa community," said Governor Lenku.

He claimed that some conservation groups had gone to court to challenge an earlier executive order by the late President Mwai Kibaki in 2005.

"Any attempt from any quarter to sabotage this great milestone will be met with the full force of the Maasai community and we will not allow the community to continue to be discriminated against because they are the best in wildlife conservation," said the governor.

He said his government was already putting in place a framework for its new role and would work with the Ministry of Tourism to speed up the change in management of the park.

Governor Lelelit threatened to ban any Samburu conservation group that joins the Amboseli takeover saboteurs.

"We are the best in wildlife conservation, we need to correct the mistakes of the past, we have lived with wildlife but we haven't fully benefited from the resources, we support Kajiado," said Lelelit.

Governor Ntutu said Kajiado had learnt lessons from Maasai Mara and Samburu Game Reserve and should not worry about the new development.

"We are in solidarity with Kajiado County government, we will support them in this process," said Ntutu.

And in a sign of the push and pull between the community and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which manages the park, officials from the parastatal gave the interdenominational prayers a wide berth.

A KWS source had earlier confirmed the presence of its chairman, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Walter Raria, but he was a no-show.

The park is considered the home of the African elephant and has become a centre for wildlife research.

None of the revenue collected at Amboseli goes to the Kajiado County government, unlike the Maasai Mara and Samburu Game Reserves, which are managed by their respective county governments.