Stop, Say No to Tsavo National Park vote hunting politics ahead of next year general election in Kenya 

 Early this week,President Ruto declared that thousands of "locals communities" who had encroached on part of Chyulu Hills,Tsavo National Park be allocated the land.
 The President, supported by a section of local politicians resolved that the Tsavo National Park boundaries will be readjusted and expanded on one side 
 President Ruto instructed the National Land Commission to fast track the transfer of the gazetted park land, promised to issue title deeds to the Makueni County residents once the process is completed and called on the community to support his government and re-election bid in the year general elections
  The President's decree basically endorsed an illegality, invasions of gazzeted, protected land and sets a dangerous precedent that threatens critical,fragile ecosystem, wildlife conservation and exploitations of state resources for political reasons.
 Reports have emerged that the key persons pushing for the allocation of the land are wheeler dealers,land speculators and politicians who seek to woo voters to support them by using the land benefits as a campaign tool.

Summary -Tsavo National Park 
 
 Tsavo National Park is Kenya's largest protected area and one of the oldest national parks in the country, established and gazetted in April 1948.
 The park was split into two sections—Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park—separated by the Uganda Railway and the A109 Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
 Tsavo National Park is endowed with rich history and well known for "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" as from 1898, during the construction of the Uganda Railway by the British, two maneless male lions killed dozens of railway workers over nine months before being shot by Colonel John Henry Patterson.
  The park experienced heavy poaching in the 20th century, which decimated its elephant population, though strict anti-poaching measures have since helped herds rebound significantly.
 Nonetheless, renewed cases of bush meat poaching and human wildlife conflicts have emerged major challenges facing the conservation of wildlife species of the park,approximately 22,812 km² (or roughly 8,807 square miles), making it the largest wildlife sanctuary system in Kenya.
 Over 30,000 squatters and migrant settlers have encroached and settled in and around parts of the Chyulu Hills for decades, leading to heightened HWC,deforestation, charcoal burning, and land cover damage 
 Massive movement and unregulated livestock entry into park boundaries remains a major issue, with local herders frequently bringing cattle into the hills due to resource and pasture availability 
 In mid-2026, the Kenya Wildlife Service pushed forward with boundary fencing and a Rhino Sanctuary Project in Tsavo West National Park and Chyulu Hills National Park. 
 The initiative, however faced stiff opposition from a section of local communities, political leaders and governors of Kajiado and Makueni counties who strongly opposed the fences, arguing they block vital livestock grazing routes and disrupt crucial wildlife migration corridors connecting Amboseli National Park, Chyulu and Tsavo.
 The political led protests argued that the fencing cuts off livestock from traditional grazing fields and essential water sources forcing KWS to temporarily pause construction for dialogue.
 For several years,the KWS and the Ministry of Tourism have battled to protect,prevent Tsavo National Park encroachment to defend reservation of the park boundaries including such portions of Tsavo West National Park
 Past legal actions have also targeted illegal human settlements and encroachments inside areas like Tsavo East National Park.
 Land subdivisions,broader ecosystem pressures and fences along vital wildlife migration corridors such as the Tsavo East-West corridor and the Amboseli-Chyulu-Tsavo link have intensified human-wildlife conflicts 
  The Tsavo Conservation area holds an estimated 14,000 elephants, the largest single elephant population in Kenya.
  Tsavo National Park animals range from red-dusted elephants and maneless lions to one of the rarest antelope on earth.
 Also hosted at the vast park are Black rhino housed in the fenced Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, Tsavo West,
 Hirola antelope,fewer than 500 left in the wild worldwide,over 500 birds species across the combined Tsavo ecosystem,Lions,leopard,buffalo, girrafes,Gerenuk long-necked antelope ,Fringe-eared Oryx,Cheetah,African wild dog are also found at the park 
 Tsavo witnessed renewed wave of elephants poaching in early 2000s until about 2012 when KWS bolstered security operations and managed to get it under control with the killing greatly lessened.
 It's important to mention that the elephant's enormous memory of safe corridors they have used forever when water and food are non-existent in Tsavo had always helped them travel elsewhere to find the sustenance they need.
 Unfortunately most of the corridors no longer exist due to may private plots in the national park which have fuelled and escalated human-wildlife conflicts big time.
 Human settlements and expanding agriculture around the broader Tsavo Conservation Area have created significant ecological, social and economic pressures.
 Human encroachment ,new settlements and rising human populations coupled with increased farming activities and agro-pastoralism expanding up to park boundaries have disrupted historical migration routes and shrunk the ranges for species like elephants and compressing large animal numbers into a more confined ecosystem.
 Moreover,a surge of revenge attacks, poisoning of predators and elephants by  communities engaged in pastoralism and agro-pastoralism have been on the rise and expected to worsen experience  alongside disease transmission between wildlife and domestic livestock (such as malignant catarrhal fever and tick-borne diseases).
 Massive livestock populations in adjacent lands have resulted to widespread illegal grazing inside the park leading to loss of pasture that they rely inside the park during dry-season
 The concentration of wildlife in restricted spaces, combined with human activities also places intense stress on native flora.
 Growing human activity and settlements near the park have increased the frequency of accidental or intentional human-caused wildfires (such as intentional grassland burning by pastoralists to stimulate fresh livestock forage
Last but not least,based on the above mentioned issues,I call on all to support this campaigns, petition that seeks to compel the government to reverse the decision,stop the planned allocation of Tsavo land to encroachers to avoid a situation where invasions seizures of gazzeted and protected land will be become the trend and pursued in other parts of the country, all for political reasons.