Kapona Lapale: Lethal former poacher turns into dependable wildlife protector

Kapuna Lepale Nanyuki, a poacher-turned-wildlife ranger. [Peter Muiruri, Standard]

A flock of superb starlings punctuate the morning air with their tweets, breaking the crisp atmosphere with their melodious tunes.

Early morning rains have soaked in tonnes of dust that had turned roads inside the 62,000-acre Lewa Conservancy into massive dust bowls.

Following their daily regime, a dozen anti-poaching wildlife rangers, their green tracksuits blending in with the lush vegetation, begin a morning run.

In the group is Kapona Lapale Nanyuki. He is not sure of his age but is among the oldest on the team. Despite his age, he is quite agile, following closely the instructions of Edward Nderitu, head of the anti-poaching unit in the conservancy.

But Nanyuki would not be here training. In fact, the armed rangers would be hunting him down and neutralise his threats against local wildlife. 

Laikipia was his gangland where he spent 15 years, between 1985 to 2000, poaching elephants for a living in the expansive conservancy and other wildlife sanctuaries. From his home in Namunyak, Nanyuki became a force to reckon with, evading law enforcement agencies as he mowed down tens of elephants for their ivory.

By the time he lay down the gun, 73 elephants were down, tusks removed and auctioned to the highest bidder. He also put down about 25 leopards and several cheetahs for their skins.

His few encounters with lions also ended badly since, as he puts it, “They are always my enemies because they used to kill our livestock”. But how did the self-confessed poacher evade the proverbial long arm of the law?

“It is true I was never arrested,” he says, his arms resting on a rifle. “There was no way they would catch me. I would run away to the bush whenever law enforcement agents came for me. People would see me in one location during the day but spend the night in a different area. The police and [KWS] agents would be looking for where I was spotted earlier but I would be long gone. I was a master of disguise.”

Most of his colleagues surrendered while others were hunted down. Some were killed. He would not divulge any names of his former ‘comrades’ who have also laid down their arms.

His story reads like a thriller, from procurement of guns to approaching ferocious wild animals. “I used a rifle, then a G-3 obtained. Someone sold me his gun so that he could upgrade to an automatic one,” he says.

Getting a good supply of bullets in Marsabit was no big deal either as all he did was “dip my hands in a bucket and come out with tens of bullets”.

Nanyuki started with small-time hunting, mainly for food, his initial quarry being antelopes before adding giraffes to his diet. “Then I graduated to hunting elephants. I would kill six elephants in a day, working with middlemen who then sold the tusks to rich businessmen. But I am never going back that route. It is over,” he says.

Kapuna Lepale Nanyuki, a poacher-turned-wildlife ranger. [Peter Muiruri, Standard]

Crouching on the ground while holding firmly to his rifle, Nanyuki demonstrates how he would bring down an elephant in just one shot, a difficult undertaking for the uninitiated. With the wind blowing towards him, he could get within metres of an elephant and in a single touch of the trigger, the five-tonne jumbo would be down. 

Then at some point Kenya took a firm stand against poaching. The local and international ivory markets started to shrink putting his ‘career’ in jeopardy. Near his home, Namunyak Conservancy was established, and elders searched for him with a simple message; to protect the animals from poaching.

“I could not believe it. It was difficult tracing me in the bush, but they succeeded. They interceded on my behalf and I escaped going to jail,” he says.

Dressed in a Samburu shuka, Nanyuki was flown to Lewa where the management promised him a job. He did not like it and ran away. They came for him again and this time, he stayed. That was in 2001. Other rangers heard of his exploits and cringed. He was put on the anti-poaching team and has been an invaluable team member who can smoke out a poacher from any hole. Nderitu says Nanyuki has turned into a good wildlife ambassador who has the ear of his community.

“We use him whenever new conservancies are formed in educating people on the dangers of poaching and advocate the benefits of wildlife conservation. He is also a good example of fitness and is teaching others virtues of being a good ranger,” says Nderitu. 

As the world celebrates the World Rangers Day on July 31, Nanyuki regrets his past lifestyle. “It haunts me,” he says. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night whenever I recall the agony of the animals I killed. None will die of poaching under my watch.”