Mudavadi warns vested interests threaten conservancies

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has warned that the greatest threat to conservancies across the country now comes from rising commercial and selfish interests.

Mudavadi said these interests risk undermining decades of conservation achievements.

He said the government, through the relevant agencies, is working on policies and regulatory frameworks designed to curb unregulated commercial activity and protect wildlife habitats from exploitation.

He emphasised that empowering local communities is central to shielding conservancies from destructive interests.

“Today the President has demystified that the biggest threat to conservancy was not the local community,” he said.

“When President Ruto handed over the instruments of ownership, it was more than a ceremonial gesture. It was a bold statement that communities are not enemies of conservation.”

The PCS spoke in Kimana, Kajiado County during the historic transfer of the management of Amboseli National Park to its host community, the Maasai, under the leadership of the Kajiado County Government.

The ceremony marked the first time the iconic national park has been placed directly under community stewardship, a shift many leaders described as long overdue.

Mudavadi said the event represented a defining moment for Maa-speaking communities in Kajiado, Narok and Samburu, who came together to witness a change they have championed for generations.

He noted that the joint presence of the three county governors demonstrated the unity and focus required to manage community resources.

“The presence of the three governors together with the people of these counties has demonstrated, in the same way lions hunt in a park, the unity, the focus and the determination of the people in addressing issues that affect their community,” he said.

He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to sustainable development, saying local communities must no longer be treated as bystanders in conservation but as central actors whose cultural knowledge and lived experience are indispensable.

The transfer, which took place on the final day of the Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival, is expected to redefine Kenya’s approach to conservation, devolution and the restoration of community rights.

For communities that have ceded vast tracts of land for wildlife conservation, the moment carried deep emotional and historical weight.

Mudavadi added that regions traditionally labelled as marginalised are increasingly proving to be resourceful contributors to national development.

He said ongoing reforms in conservation and governance are elevating communities long excluded from key economic and political processes.

The PCS described the handover as a landmark decision that resolves decades of debate over the ownership and management of Amboseli, honours Kenya’s heritage and places the Maasai community at the centre of safeguarding one of the world’s most famous wildlife ecosystems.