An African mockery... On 2 October, the Supreme Court in Nairobi temporarily suspended the increase in new park entrance fees, at least until 25 November, when, given the objections raised by the Kenya Wildlife Service, the issue would be discussed.
A decision that seemed sacrosanct in a country where the rule of law still prevails. The sudden increase had caused disruption in the tourism sector for safari agencies, operators and resorts that had already booked and paid for safaris for their customers.
Initially, the increase was scheduled for 1 January, as was the case last year.

Was everything resolved with this first extension?
Not at all, because the e-citizen government system, a platform that also includes payments for Kenyan parks controlled by the government (i.e. all parks except the Maasai Mara and a few other small ones, as well as private reserves), decided to change the fees even before waiting for the days when petitions can be submitted following a regulation published in the official gazette.

So now, anyone trying to pay for their clients' park entrance fees is faced with increased rates, rather than the old ones that have been confirmed by the Court until the next ruling.
‘We called the KWS to protest,’ at least three safari agencies told us, ‘but the response was that if we want to go on safari, we have to pay the new rates because the system has not yet been rolled back, and we have to wait for the technicians to fix it. They also assured us that the surcharges will be refunded, but we are not very confident.’ This is also because if the system is not restored, those with repeat customers will suffer huge losses for more than a month.
Someone in Nairobi tried to go to the entrance of Nairobi National Park and ask, given the exceptional nature of the case and their problem, to be able to pay directly there, even showing the court ruling. But it was to no avail. In Nairobi, foreigners who used to pay £30 are now seeing their fees almost double, from £30 to £55.
In “premium” parks, such as Amboseli, Nakuru and Tsavo, fees have risen to 1,500 shillings for residents and £80 for international visitors. “Medium” parks, such as Meru and Aberdare, charge foreigners £70.