A Festival of Culture and Consequence

KAJIADO, Kenya – What began with a light-hearted challenge over traditional attire from Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit has evolved into a profound national moment at the third Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival, held from Monday, November 4, 2025, to Saturday, November 9, 2025. Hosted this year in Kajiado County against the backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro, the festival has transcended its cultural showcase, becoming the focal point for the historic transfer of Amboseli National Park's management to the county government. The event, themed “Promoting Maa Cultural Expression for Socio-Economic Development,” unites the Maasai, Samburu, and Njemps communities, but its true significance lies in the tangible steps being taken to correct what leaders have termed “historical injustices” and unlock economic potential for a region long on the nation's periphery.

Amboseli: A Landmark Devolution

The festival's central theme is the official handover of Amboseli National Park, a move formalized by a Deed of Transfer signed on October 14, 2025, and gazetted on October 24, 2025. This act gives legal effect to a directive issued by President William Ruto in August 2023. For decades, pastoralist communities living alongside the park's wildlife have borne the costs of human-wildlife conflict while seeing minimal economic returns from the lucrative tourism industry. Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku described the handover as a “double celebration” and the correction of a deep-seated injustice that previous administrations had failed to address. Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit echoed this sentiment, praising President Ruto's “courage” in returning the resource to its ancestral custodians.

Under the new co-management model, Kajiado County will assume day-to-day operations, while the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) retains oversight on conservation and security. The transition includes a detailed revenue-sharing agreement set to be phased in over three years. According to the gazetted deed, revenues will be split 50:50 between the national and county governments in the 2026/2027 fiscal year. Kajiado's share will increase to 70% in 2027/2028, and the county is expected to receive 100% of the revenue by the 2028/2029 fiscal year. A perpetual 5% of gross revenues will be allocated to the national government to support research and ecological monitoring. The park, a major tourist attraction, is estimated to generate around KSh 1.5 to 2 billion annually. A 2023 survey noted that the total economic value of conservation and eco-tourism in the wider Amboseli ecosystem reached KSh 2.36 billion.

Economic Hopes and Enduring Challenges

The Maa Cultural Festival, which rotates between Narok (2023), Samburu (2024), and Kajiado (2025), was established under the Maa Economic Bloc (MAAEB) framework to promote cultural tourism and stimulate socio-economic growth. Leaders hope the Amboseli model will provide a direct economic lifeline to communities. The agreement mandates that one million acres of community land surrounding the park be set aside as conservation areas, integrating local landowners into the tourism value chain. This is critical for a region where pastoralism contributes significantly to livelihoods but has faced systemic marginalisation. Reports from organizations like the UNDP and the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) have historically highlighted lower development indicators in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), including pastoralist counties, stemming from inadequate infrastructure and service provision. While the precise contribution of Maa cultural tourism to Kenya's GDP has not been isolated in recent national statistics, the broader tourism sector remains a vital economic pillar. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, international visitor arrivals grew by 35.4% to over 2 million in 2023.

However, significant challenges persist. Human-wildlife conflict remains a severe issue. A 2025 report noted that elephants are responsible for over 46% of such conflicts in Kajiado, leading to crop destruction, loss of livestock, and human casualties. Between 2013 and 2023, 23 human deaths from wildlife conflict were recorded in Kajiado County. In May 2025, the government disbursed KSh 64.1 million in compensation to affected families in Kajiado, part of a larger national effort to mitigate these conflicts. The success of the Amboseli handover will depend on the county's capacity to manage this complex interplay of conservation, community benefit, and security, a challenge that will be closely watched as a potential model for other conservation areas in Kenya.