KWS: We have no intention of taking over management of Mara

By KIPCHUMBA KEMEI

Masai Mara, Kenya: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has said it has no intentions of taking over the management of Masai Mara Game Reserve from the Narok County Government.

It said Friday’s reports attributed to Narok County politicians that KWS was planning to take over the reserve were misleading and not in tandem with the constitutional provisions that spell out roles of county governments and KWS.

“KWS has no plans to take over Mara. Claims by politicians that there are such plans are misrepresentation of facts which have no basis in law,” said Paul Udoto, KWS Corporate Communication Manager.

The County politicians led by Narok West MP Patrick Ntutu accused KWS of planning to take over the reserve, saying that it should instead concentrate with the runaway poaching which posed a threat to the tourism sector and the national economy.

The politicians were reacting to reports by a section of the press and which was attributed to the KWS Director William Kiprono asking the County Government to relinquish the management of Mara to the service because it lacked the capacity to do so.

In a statement to all media outlets, Udoto said the director was misquoted.

“There is no conflict between the county government and KWS. What appeared in the press is not our position. Our position is to assist it with technical support in issues of human-wildlife conflict, the perennial cattle incursion into the park which has become an eye sore to tourists visiting the Mara and poaching,” he said.