Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku says the Maasai community is moving to commercialise its rich cultural heritage while preserving traditional values and promoting community-based conservation.
Speaking on Citizen TV’s Sunday Live on November 2, Ole Lenku said preparations are underway for the Amboseli Cultural Festival, to be held from November 4 to 8, where the Maasai will showcase their traditions, discuss cultural preservation, and explore how to turn heritage into a sustainable economic resource.
He said the event, which will culminate in a visit by President William Ruto on November 8, will also mark the government’s handover of Amboseli National Park to the Kajiado County Government, ending a long-running dispute over its ownership.
The governor termed the move a correction of a historical injustice, saying Amboseli was initially designated as a game reserve shared between wildlife and local communities before its status was changed to a national park decades ago.
“Amboseli cannot be fenced off. It is a shared ecosystem where wildlife and community livelihoods coexist,” Lenku said.
The management of Amboseli National Park had been transferred to the Kajiado County Government on October 25,2025, following the signing of a Deed of Transfer of Management Functions on October 14, 2025, and its gazettement on October 24, 2025.
According to the gazette notice, the national government transferred, conveyed and assigned to Kajiado County the full management functions of the park, a move that takes effect 21 days after signing and will run for 15 years, subject to renewal.
The ownership of Amboseli remains with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which will continue to provide oversight on key functions.
The county will now oversee conservation, wildlife security and tourism operations within the park. Revenue collection will be done through the e-Citizen platform under a phased sharing arrangement.
He announced that Kajiado County plans to establish a “third-generation park” model integrating environmental conservation, wildlife protection, and local livelihoods.
Under this approach, communities will be given greater ownership and financial benefits from tourism, with part of the revenue reinvested in education, water projects, and healthcare.
The governor said the county has already secured an additional one million acres of land to expand wildlife roaming areas and reduce human–wildlife conflict.
He added that the county will form a management body modeled on the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to oversee the Amboseli ecosystem directly from within the park rather than from the county headquarters.
On environmental concerns, Ole Lenku said overgrazing and climate change have degraded Amboseli’s vegetation, turning much of it into semi-desert.
He revealed plans to restore tree cover through rotational grazing and habitat regeneration in collaboration with local communities.
The five-day festival will also feature discussions on education, women’s empowerment, and civic participation. The governor said the Maasai community is working to promote school enrollment, address teenage pregnancies, and increase voter registration in border areas.
He noted that the Maasai culture, including the Enkipata initiation rites recently listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, remains central to the identity of the community.
“The Maasai culture is a national treasure,” Ole Lenku said. “We want it to thrive in a modern Kenya as both a heritage and an economic asset.”
