Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has said that it is impossible for President William Ruto to transfer ownership of Amboseli National Park from the national government to the Kajiado county government.
Speaking at a public event, the senator claimed that it would be impractical for the president to transfer ownership of the park to the county government under the constitution. If he intends to do so, he will have to change the constitution.
According to Omtatah, the president should focus more on ensuring that revenue generated by the park benefits the people of Kajiado County.
"If you go to the Constitution of Kenya, it stipulates that a national park is public property, so if, truly, the president has the intention of transferring the national park to the Maasai people who are preserving the national park, he will need to change the Constitution," Omtatah said.
"Without saying that he will change the constitution, the transfer of the national park is a lie, because it will never happen. The government should instead ensure that the revenue from the park helps people from this area," he added.
Last August, the Head of State directed the Ministry of Tourism to hand over control of the national park to the Kajiado County Government, claiming that this was a long-overdue move.
Two months later, on November 14, the cabinet approved the transfer of ownership of the park to the Kajiado County Government in a cabinet dispatch.
''The Cabinet also discussed and approved the transfer of Amboseli National Park to the County Government of Kajiado,'' read part of the cabinet dispatch.
The dispatch came after months of intense lobbying from the local community and Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, who had requested that the park be handed over to the county.
Amboseli National Park is a renowned wildlife conservation area and was initially established as a reserve for the Maasai people in 1906, and later became a national park in 1974 to protect its ecosystem.
Following the dispatch, Kajiado County would be responsible for developing, among other policies, the best strategies to manage and improve the revenue generated from the park.
According to the Kajiado governor, the transfer of the park would enable the local communities living within the region to foster peaceful coexistence with the wildlife.
"We have created a plan to transit Amboseli to a third-generation park where wildlife and communities co-exist in a harmonious way to integrate conservation into communities' livelihoods,'' he said.
