Giraffes will be keenly following this year's Madaraka Day fete

Wajir County is one of Kenya’s richest wildlife landscapes, yet one of the least supported. [File, Standard]

For the first time in Kenya’s history, Madaraka Day celebrations will be held in Wajir County. That decision matters. It matters politically. It matters historically. But above all, it matters environmentally.

President William Ruto will address the nation from the very county that hosts the largest remaining population of Somali giraffes (reticulated) anywhere in the world. That fact alone should force Kenya to finally look north.

For decades, Northern Kenya was treated as a hardship zone, a security problem, or an afterthought. Yet as habitat destruction accelerates across much of Southern Kenya, the future of Kenya’s wildlife increasingly rests in the drylands of the North especially Wajir, Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu and Isiolo. The irony is painful.

The President will speak from one of Kenya’s richest wildlife landscapes, yet one of the least supported.

According to recent wildlife census findings, Wajir alone holds the largest surviving population of Somali giraffes (reticulated) anywhere in the world, while the combined landscapes of Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera now form the single greatest remaining stronghold of the species globally. Few regions on earth carry such responsibility for the survival of an iconic species.

Wajir, Garissa, and Mandera also host large populations of lions, cheetahs, Grevy’s zebra, lesser kudu, Hirola, gerenuk, ostrich, dik-dik, gazelle, and other species uniquely adapted to arid ecosystems. But unlike Southern Kenya, these landscapes are not protected by famous parks or billion shilling tourism economies.

There is no Maasai Mara here. No Amboseli. No Tsavo. Only communities.

And one forgotten national park called Malkamari that has been allowed to remain a paper park for decades through neglect, underfunding, and institutional indifference. That truth must be said openly.

Without communities, wildlife in Northern Kenya would disappear within years. Communities are the parks. Communities are the rangers. Communities are the conservation infrastructure.

And yet the very institutions mandated to protect wildlife continue to sideline the people doing the actual protection on the ground. That is the biggest conservation failure in Northern Kenya today.

The Kenya Wildlife Service has largely failed to build meaningful operational partnerships with community conservancies across the North despite the fact that wildlife survives almost entirely on community land.

The North Eastern Wildlife Conservancies Association (NECA), together with local conservancies and communities, has repeatedly pushed for collaboration, ranger support, permanent Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) presence, anti-poaching coordination, drought response, and tourism development. But the response from KWS leadership has largely remained slow, distant, and Nairobi centered.

This must change. The north cannot continue protecting a national heritage alone. To be fair, President William Ruto deserves recognition for bringing Madaraka Day to Wajir. He also deserves credit for supporting wildlife and community water infrastructure through the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.

If anyone deserves bragging rights for wildlife survival in North Eastern Kenya, it is Dr Ruto for supporting water projects, not Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, who has spent more time frustrating community conservation than supporting it. A governor who has not funded one ranger or one wildlife project should not suddenly discover that his county hosts 7,000 Somali giraffes (reticulated) during Madaraka Day.

This year, water support is reaching Kamuthe Wildlife Conservancy in Garissa, Jima Community Wildlife Conservancy in Wajir North and Chachabole Community Conservancy in Mandera. The Sabuli water dam constructed in 2024 is already helping communities co-exist with Somali giraffes and other wildlife during dry periods.

That intervention matters. But the scale of the crisis remains far greater than the scale of support. Poaching continues. Climate change is intensifying. Wildlife poisoning incidents are increasing. Habitat fragmentation is accelerating.

Human wildlife conflict also continues to place enormous pressure on local communities through livestock predation, crop destruction, injuries, and deaths, while compensation processes remain painfully slow, underfunded, and bureaucratic.

And despite North Eastern Kenya carrying one of the country’s most important wildlife populations, KWS still maintains a minimal operational footprint across vast areas of the region.

Difficult questions must now be asked. Why are there still no serious and large permanent KWS stations covering critical wildlife corridors in Wajir Garissa and Mandera? Why are there no KWS stations in Habaswein, the Dadaab and Shanta Abaq corridor, Balambala, Ijara, Wajir North, Eldas, and large parts of Mandera?

Why are community conservancies operating with almost no fuel support, limited ranger equipment, and little institutional partnership despite protecting globally important wildlife populations? Why has Malkamari National Park been abandoned while communities continue carrying conservation responsibilities alone? And why does Northern Kenya remain outside mainstream tourism investment despite holding extraordinary landscapes, culture, wildlife, and strategic access to the Horn of Africa?

The future of Kenyan conservation will not be secured only in fenced parks in Southern Kenya. Land subdivision, settlement expansion, and habitat loss are placing enormous pressure on traditional conservation areas across the South.

The long term survival of Kenya’s wildlife increasingly depends on the drylands of the north. That reality requires a complete policy shift. The government should immediately establish permanent KWS operational stations in Habaswein, the Lagdera and Dadaab axis, Wajir North, and Southern Mandera. Community ranger programmes must receive structured support including motorbikes, fuel, communication equipment, and drought emergency assistance. Human wildlife conflict compensation must become faster and fairer. Wildlife water infrastructure must expand urgently.

Most importantly, KWS must fundamentally reset its relationship with NECA and community conservancies in Northern Kenya. Partnership cannot exist only in speeches and workshops.