The Kenya Wildlife Service, official guardian of the gates to the African country's savannah, has found itself stopped not by rampaging elephants or rebellious lions, but by a courtroom. The High Court in Nairobi has temporarily suspended the application of new park entrance fees, pending a hearing scheduled for 25 November.
Judge Chigiti accepted three of the requests submitted by the Kenya Tourism Federation against the KWS and the State Legal Office, imposing a schedule worthy of a legal ping-pong match: within seven days, the KWS must file its response, and another seven days will be granted to the Federation to reply. Meanwhile, in the middle of the jungle, the wildlife fortunately continues to live without worrying about official notifications.
The new fees, which came into effect on 30 September, had been approved by Parliament a few days earlier, after a year of consultations. The KWS explained that the last revision was eighteen years ago and that the costs of managing the parks could no longer be covered by tickets costing 430 shillings per person for residents. Hence the increase to 1,000 shillings for entry to Nairobi National Park, while foreigners would go from 43 to 80 dollars.
In “premium” parks, such as Amboseli and Nakuru, fees would rise to 1,500 shillings for residents and 11,660 for international visitors. “Medium” parks, such as Meru and Aberdare, would charge 800 shillings for Kenyans and 70 dollars for foreigners. Hell's Gate, more modest but no less impressive, would charge 500 shillings.
Children under five, seniors over seventy, people with disabilities, as well as guides, porters and authorised personnel would remain exempt.
This is a temporary relief for trade associations and tour operators, especially those who have already sold packages for the next two months.
A reform presented as inevitable by the KWS, contested as unsustainable by the tourism sector, and now suspended by a judge. While we wait for the law to decide how much it should cost to see a lion, nature does what it has always done: it goes on, without tickets and without appeals.