After decades of struggle, tears, and hope, the Maasai community is finally celebrating the historic return of Amboseli National Park to Kajiado County.
The official handover, which will be witnessed during the Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival at Amboseli National Park, marks the end of years of push and pull between the national and county government over control of the park.
Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku captured the emotion of the moment, calling it nothing short of liberation.
“It is actually like a country achieving independence; it is very emotional, you will see tears flowing, you will see people celebrating; new songs have been developed, and therefore the Maa nation stands on the verge of history to say ‘God has heard our cry,’” Lenku said during the festival.
True to his words, Lenku was overcome with emotion, recalling how he broke down in tears at the inaugural Maa Cultural Festival in Sekenani, Narok County, in 2023, when President William Ruto first announced that Amboseli would be handed back to the Maasai community in recognition of their enduring commitment to conservation.
“You know, I broke down when the President pronounced himself that this is a historical injustice against the Maasai, I broke down because I am a Maasai, and two, I come from this ecosystem,” he avered.
According to Lenku, this is a historical injustice that was committed against his people many years ago.
“As we know, in the earlier delineation of national parks and game reserves, Amboseli was a game reserve like the Mara and Samburu Game Reserve. But along the way, due to negative politics, the people of Kajiado were denied their jewel, their tourism jewel, making their economic jewel, Amboseli, go to the national government,” said Lenku.
Lenku said the emotions surrounding the handover run deep across Maasai households because Amboseli’s story is intertwined with their daily lives.
“Every family has a history of these animals. A family could have lost a loved one due to these animals. We have lost grazing space to these animals, we have lost our watering points when the park was closed, and some of us have seen that transition, from when we were sharing our rangeland with this heritage to the time when it was severed; that we have no right to come here,” he said.
He praised the Kenya Kwanza administration for what he described as an act of courage in correcting a long-standing wrong.
“President William Ruto has corrected an injustice, and we celebrate that courage because it was against the will, the wishes of powerful institutions, of powerful individuals, of many who have been benefiting from this park against the community,” said Lenku.
Samburu Governor Jonathan Lati Lelelit empathised with Lenku’s emotions, offering a cultural lens to explain the deep connection between the Maasai people and their land.
“In our culture, it is said that there are two things that can never leave you for the rest of your life, the land, which we call the soil and your children. Unfortunately, this land left the Maasai people,” said Lelelit.
Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu also hailed the President for keeping his promise and delivering justice to the Maasai people.
“I would want to thank His Excellency the President for really making this decision a reality. The Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Amboseli National Reserve and Samburu National Reserve have all along been the same, and today, returning the Amboseli National Reserve to Ole Kajiado County Government is a big thing,” Ntutu said.
He added that while the handover brings joy, it also underscores the costs communities bear in living side by side with wildlife.
“In terms of human-wildlife conflict, when you look around, you see the Maasai grazing their livestock. It comes with a cost, people die, people lose their lives and their livestock because of this wildlife. So it is expensive to have wildlife in your land,” Ntutu noted.
The emotional milestone was formally sealed in the Deed of Transfer signed on October 14, 2025, officially transferring management of Amboseli National Park from the National Government to the County Government of Kajiado.
According to the agreement, the net park revenues will be progressively shared between the two levels of government over a three-year transition period.
In the 2026/2027 financial year, both the County Government of Kajiado and the National Government will each receive 50 per cent of the revenues.
The share will then shift in 2027/2028, with the County Government taking 70 per cent and the National Government 30 per cent.
By the 2028/2029 financial year, Kajiado County will assume full control, receiving 100 per cent of the park’s revenues.
Additionally, the County Government of Kajiado will receive a portion of revenues collected in the 2025/26 financial year to cater for costs incurred during the transition phase.
As the festival continues amid songs, dances and prayers, the handover of Amboseli has become more than an administrative act it was a spiritual and emotional restoration for the Maasai nation.
