President William Ruto has assured residents of Kajiado that the planned transfer of management of Amboseli National Park to the county government will go ahead despite a court case challenging the process.
Speaking on Thursday during his development tour of Kajiado, Ruto said the legal challenge should not worry residents, pointing to previous court cases involving key government programmes such as the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Affordable Housing programme.
Ruto said the proposed handover was aimed at returning Amboseli to the people of Kajiado County, insisting that his administration would overcome the legal hurdles facing the plan.
“I came here and said that the national park here in Amboseli should be returned to become the property of the people of Kajiado County,” Mr Ruto said.
The President said opponents had also gone to court over SHA and the housing programme before turning their attention to the Amboseli transfer.
“Some people, the way they took me to court over SHA, over housing, they have now taken me to court over Amboseli,” he said.
He urged residents to remain confident, saying the previous court challenges had not stopped his administration’s programmes and expressing confidence that the same would happen with Amboseli.
“But do not worry. They took me to court over SHA and it succeeded, they went to court over housing and it succeeded, and this Amboseli initiative will succeed. You should not worry,” Mr Ruto said.
His remarks come amid protests by Kajiado leaders and residents over delays in completing the transfer of management of the world-famous park to the county.
The proposed handover is based on Gazette Notices Nos. 15230 and 15231, published on October 24, 2005, and a Deed of Transfer executed on October 15, 2025.
The process, however, was suspended in December 2025 after the High Court ruled that a petition challenging the transfer raised major constitutional questions that had to be determined before the handover could proceed.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye held that the management of national parks and wildlife is an exclusive function of the National Government under Part I of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.
He also ruled that Amboseli is public land held in trust under Article 62(3) of the Constitution.
“Management of national parks and wildlife is expressly vested in the National Government under Part I of the Fourth Schedule, and Amboseli National Park is public land held in trust under Article 62(3),” Justice Mwamuye said.
The judge further ruled that the management and protection of national parks could not be transferred to county governments through gazette notices or executive agreements.
The petition challenging the handover also argued that the National Land Commission had been unlawfully left out of the process, Parliament had not approved the transfer and there had been no meaningful public participation.
The National Government and the Attorney General challenged the High Court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the matter should have been heard by the Environment and Land Court.
Justice Mwamuye dismissed that objection, saying the petition mainly raised constitutional questions about the division of responsibilities between the National Government and county governments.
Kajiado County has defended the proposed transfer, saying it is intended to address historical injustices suffered by the Maasai community.
The county has also said the process followed a presidential directive issued after consultations with stakeholders and public participation.