Mark Glen driving Car 48 won the 2019 Rhino Charge held on Sunday in Nannapa Conservancy, Isiolo County with a distance of 30.19km.
Mikey Hughes of Team Huzi in Car 33 followed in second place with a distance of 30.36km while William Carr-Hartley placed third in Car 42 with a distance of 31.8km.
The highest fundraiser was Peter Kinyua (Car 23), who raised Sh19 million. Kinyua is the chairman of the Kenya Forest Service. In second and third positions were Adil Khawaja (Team AK44) in Car 44 with Sh17 million and Stanley Kinyanjui (Team Magnate Chargers) in Car 62 with Sh15,015,499.
The Victor Ludorum, an award that takes into consideration both distance and fundraiser, was won by Adil Khawaja (Team AK44) in Car 44. The event raised Sh153,499,914.
Don White, the clerk of the course, said: “The Rhino Charge is primarily a fundraising event for the conservation of Kenya’s prime mountain forests and key sources of water. Its overall mission is to work with leading Government agencies and other partners to secure these resources for the future of this nation and the well-being of the people of Kenya”.
The Land Access Fee, totalling Sh4.7 million was raised from vehicle entry fees into the venue by all entrants. The funds will go to local conservation projects in the host conservancy.
The money raised during this event will go towards fencing Mt Kenya of which 190km has already been completed and fencing Kakamega Forest. The money will also be used to maintain and upgrade the 400km Aberdare fence of which over 50km have already been upgraded and to maintain the 43.3km Mau Eburu fence. Other conservation activities that will be supported by this Charge’s fundraise, include conservation education and bio-enterprise development in South Western Mau, aerial surveillance in Mt. Kenya, Aberdares and South Western Mau, as well as building fire-fighting capacity in Mt. Kenya, Aberdares and Mau Eburu.
The event was attended by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balal, India High Commissioner to Kenya H.E. Rahul Chhabra, Kakamega County governor Wycliffe Oparanya and Isiolo County Deputy Governor Dr. Abdi Issa.
