Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and Kenyan-based, Lazizi Mara Limited’s Illegally Built Safari Lodge Is Blocking Wildlife in the Great Migration — and Now They’re Trying to Silence the Maasai Fighting It.

We must not let that happen.

Billionaires are once again prioritizing profits over preservation — this time in the heart of the Maasai Mara, one of the most important wildlife ecosystems on Earth.

Enough is enough.

Marriott International and its Ritz-Carlton brand, together with Kenyan owner-operator Lazizi Mara Limited (part of the Lazizi Group, led by Director Shivan Patel), have opened a luxury safari lodge inside a wildlife corridor in Kenya’s Maasai Mara — a pathway used by elephants, wildebeest, zebra, hippos, and countless other species during the Great Migration.

Now, as Maasai leaders fight to protect their land and restore the corridor, corporate lawyers are reportedly attempting to silence them through the courts.

We cannot allow Indigenous defenders — who have protected this ecosystem for generations — to be gagged while billion-dollar safari brands profit.

 
UPDATE (Nov 25, 2025)
This petition has been updated to explicitly name Lazizi Mara Limited and Director Shivan Patel, the Kenyan owner-operator of the Ritz-Carlton Maasai Mara Safari Camp, as they appear in news reporting (New York Times, Reuters) and court filings associated with this case.

 
WHAT IS HAPPENING
In 2025, Marriott/Ritz-Carlton opened the Ritz-Carlton Maasai Mara Safari Camp along the Sand River — directly on a migration route between Kenya’s Maasai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti.

Environmental experts, community testimony, and reporting from Reuters and The Independent show that:

The lodge sits in a protected wildlife corridor
Construction occurred in restricted zones under Kenyan law
Concrete structures block animal access to the river
Migration routes have been narrowed or disrupted
Community objections were ignored
The lodge violates the 2023–2032 Maasai Mara Management Plan, which placed a moratorium on new accommodations
Blocking a migration route is not a “minor issue.”
It harms entire wildlife populations and threatens the Great Migration itself.

 
THE MAASAI ARE FIGHTING BACK — IN COURT
Maasai leaders, including environmental defender Dr. Meitamei Olol Dapash, have brought the case to Kenya’s Environment & Land Court.

They are asking the court to:

Declare the lodge illegal
Halt operations
Restore wildlife movement
Hold developers and approving agencies accountable
Hearings are ongoing.

 
NOW THERE ARE ATTEMPTS TO SILENCE MAASAI DEFENDERS
Public reporting on the legal proceedings remains limited, but the most recent information circulating within conservation and advocacy networks indicates that:

A gag order has been issued against Dr. Meitamei Ole Dapash
Additional Maasai leaders may also be restricted
Because official court documents are not yet publicly accessible, this cannot be stated as fully confirmed — but it is clear there is an active legal effort to restrict his ability to speak publicly about the obstruction of wildlife migration routes and the case against Marriott/Ritz-Carlton (and Lazizi Mara).

Silencing Indigenous communities is a tactic used globally to suppress environmental justice movements.
We cannot allow it here.
And if Dr. Dapash has been silenced, then we must become the voice he cannot use.

 
WHAT WE ARE DEMANDING
We call on:

Anthony Capuano, CEO of Marriott International
Ritz-Carlton / Marriott Luxury Division
Lazizi Mara Limited (Lazizi Group – Director Shivan Patel)
NEMA (National Environment Management Authority)
Narok County Government
to:

Halt all lodge operations immediately
Suspend bookings and activities
Restore the wildlife corridor
Remove or relocate structures that block wildlife movement
Respect Indigenous rights and community-led conservation
End all attempts to silence Maasai defenders
Withdraw any gag-order applications or legal intimidation
The Maasai have safeguarded this land for thousands of years.

 
GLOBAL PRESSURE WORKS
International petitions, public outcry, and collective visibility have stopped destructive projects involving endangered species before.
The Maasai deserve that same solidarity now.

Wildlife corridors are not commodities.
They are ancient pathways that sustain entire ecosystems.

When wildlife corridors become profit corridors, we all lose.
— Dr. Meitamei Olol Dapash

 
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Sign and share this petition
Numbers matter.
The attempt to silence the Maasai has escalated because global awareness is working.

2. Email Marriott International
📩 sustainability@marriott.com
✍️ Subject: Urgent Request to Halt Lodge Operations in the Maasai Mara

(Email template remains below.)

3. Hold Lazizi Mara Limited accountable. They do not have a website, but Shivan Patel-- the CEO/Owner/Operator of both Lazizi Mara Limited AND the Lodge in question-- can be contacted via LinkedIn. 

3. Spread the word
Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, conservation groups, travel communities — every share counts.

 
EMAIL TEMPLATE TO MARRIOTT
Dear Marriott and Ritz-Carlton teams,

I am deeply concerned that Marriott is operating a luxury lodge in a wildlife corridor in the Maasai Mara — a crucial pathway for the Great Migration. Reports and video coverage reveal that this development is obstructing wildlife and violating recent Kenyan environmental law.

I urge Marriott International and Lazizi Mara Limited to:

Halt operations at the Maasai Mara Safari Camp
Restore the wildlife corridor
Respect Maasai community rights and leadership
Until meaningful action is taken, I will not be staying at any Marriott or Ritz-Carlton property.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

 
ETHICAL & TRANSPARENCY NOTE
This petition is created in support of, not on behalf of, Dr. Dapash or the Maasai community.
If you represent their team and wish to coordinate directly, contact: onebutmanydocumentary@gmail.com.

“Chip-ins” on Change.org go to Change.org — not to the Maasai community or any individual connected to this case.

 
Thank you to everyone who has signed, shared, and refused to look away.
This campaign is working.

Let’s keep going until Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Lazizi Mara Limited, and all responsible authorities are forced to fix the damage they have caused.