Maasai Mara: The deadliest assault on world's eighth wonder

The Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya’s crown jewel and host of the world-famous wildebeest migration is facing unprecedented threats.

Long-standing land ownership battles, rising human–wildlife conflict and increasingly frequent wildlife killings cast a shadow over the future of the global tourism icon.

Reports of blocked wildlife corridors have deepened concern, raising questions about whether the ecosystem can survive mounting pressures.

The Maasai Mara is not only home to the world-renowned Great Migration-often hailed as the “eighth wonder of the world”-but also a critical driver of Kenya’s tourism economy.

The combination of land disputes, violent protests, wildlife poisoning and deteriorating habitats now threatens both the ecosystem and the livelihoods of communities that depend on it.

At the centre of the storm is the escalating dispute over a 4,720-acre property in Talek, where the brother of Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu, Livingstone Kunini, has taken full control.

Mr Kunini is collecting all levies and fees from the land after the Court of Appeal allowed him to retain possession within the greater Maasai Mara ecosystem pending hearing and determination of the appeal.

For more than 20 years, Kunini has fought Narok County over ownership of the land known as Olkiombo — an area considered prime for tourism and central to Maasai cultural heritage. The land, with its vast plains and close proximity to key wildlife habitats, was leased to Kunini and his company, Ol Kiombo Ltd, by the defunct County Council of Narok in 1984 for 33 years.

The lease was later cancelled in 1992 when the area was gazetted as part of the national reserve. Still, Kunini continued to push for repossession. In 2005, a controversial consent agreement was signed allowing him to operate on the land, but the county later disowned the deal.

In 2014, Lady Justice Pauline Nyamweya revoked the consent and ordered the land returned to the county. Kunini appealed — and won. Appellate judges Roselyn Nambuye, Daniel Musinga and Jamila Mohammed reinstated his ownership, ruling that the consent was binding and that the land was not within the reserve.

The county challenged the ruling at the Supreme Court, arguing that the title deed was irregularly acquired and that part of the reserve had been illegally alienated. The Supreme Court referred the matter back to the Environment and Land Court (ELC), directing that the legality of the title be determined afresh.

In March Justice Charles Mbogo ruled in favour of Kunini, stating that the land formed part of the Talek adjudication area and had been degazetted after an adjudication exercise concluded on June 15, 1997. The judge noted that the county failed to object during the mandatory 60-day window and thus could not challenge the process decades later. “The county government was aware of the adjudication process in the Talek area and should have taken necessary action to file an objection,” Justice Mbogo ruled.

The court ordered Narok County to refund all revenues, rents and fees it has collected from the land over the past 27 years — together with interest — amounting to billions of shillings. The county government was also barred from collecting any future income from the disputed property.

The ruling triggered violent protests across the Mara region, with members of the Maasai community clashing with police. Two people were shot and injured in the chaos.

As tensions rose, a confidential letter written in October 2000 resurfaced, casting new doubt on the allocation. The memo, signed by then Commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita and addressed to the late Head of Public Service Richard Leakey, stated that the parcel known as Olkiombo 155 was wrongly included in the adjudication area and was illegally registered under Kunini’s name.

Mwaita stated that the adjudication boundary outlined in Legal Notice 412 of 1992 had been exceeded, resulting in an “unlawful parcel” carved out of the protected Maasai Mara Reserve.

“The registration is fraudulent and is hereby cancelled,” he wrote, recommending disciplinary action against those involved.

As the land dispute deepens, the Maasai Mara is also battling rising cases of wildlife killings — particularly lions. Conservationists warn that the deaths of several iconic lions have sparked global outrage and reflect an escalating crisis.

Earlier this year, Lorkulup - a legendary Rongai Pride lion famed as “the best buffalo hunter in the Mara” — was found dead near Maji ya Fisi under unclear circumstances. Another dominant lion, Oloisipa, was also found dead, while in 2024, the beloved Olobor disappeared without a trace.

A view of the Ritz-Carlton resort within Mara. [File, Standard]

Although the Kenya Wildlife Service often attributes deaths to territorial fights, poisoning remains a persistent threat. Three weeks ago, six lions in Oloisukut Conservancy narrowly survived suspected poisoning. In February 2025, poisoning in the Pololeti Game Reserve killed five lions and at least 13 hyenas. Tests by the Government Chemist confirmed the presence of highly toxic agrochemicals, including XMC, triapenthenol and bifenthrin.

On May 23, a poisoned lion was found near Ng’osuani settlement after it allegedly killed three calves.

Data from the Mara Predator Conservation Programme (MPCP) shows a rising trend in poisoning incidents, including a case on September 28 where six sub-adult lions required emergency veterinary treatment.

Narok County admits the reserve faces severe threats. In its Maasai Mara National Reserve Management Plan 2023–2032, the county notes growing pressure from tourism development and surging visitor numbers that are degrading habitats and diminishing wildlife populations.

The plan warns of “steep declines in key wildlife species, deterioration of the tourism product, and continued pressure from poaching and livestock grazing.”

The county further cites rapidly changing land use in the Greater Mara Ecosystem, uncontrolled tourism infrastructure, shrinking dispersal areas, blocked migratory corridors, and intensifying human–wildlife conflict.

The plan revealed that between the years 2009-2010 there were at least 140 tourism facilities in the Greater Mara Ecosystem, comprising more than 4,100 beds in total. However, there has been continuing development of accommodation facilities both in the Central Mara section of the Reserve, as well as in the buffer zone neighbouring the Reserve.

The plan revealed that both the Central Mara (Narok) and Mara Triangle sections of the Reserve are experiencing exceptionally high visitor densities, especially in Central Mara where the Reserve’s visitor carrying capacity is already greatly exceeded. For the duration of the plan, it was noted that there will be no new visitor accommodation developments, and no expansion of existing facility bed capacity.

Even with the plan in place new facilities, including the construction of the Ritz Carlton resort, continue to come up.