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Kenya Wildlife Service

Kenyan wildlife conservation agency

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is a state corporation under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife established by an act of Parliament; Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376, of 1989, now repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013. At independence, the Government of Kenya committed itself to conserving wildlife for posterity with all the means at its disposal, including the places animals lived, forests and water catchment areas.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1990Founded1

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Kenya Wildlife Service Mountain Climbing Route - Park gate
Photo: Ronald Robert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is a state corporation under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife established by an act of Parliament; Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376, of 1989, now repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013. At independence, the Government of Kenya committed itself to conserving wildlife for posterity with all the means at its disposal, including the places animals lived, forests and water catchment areas.2

The story

In 1989 Richard Leakey was appointed the head of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department (WMCD) by President Daniel Arap Moi in response to the international outcry over the poaching of elephants and the impact it was having on the wildlife of Kenya.

Well-armed anti-poaching units were formed and were authorized to shoot poachers on sight. The poaching menace was dramatically reduced. The transformation of the Kenya Wildlife Service got World Bank approved grants worth $140 million. Richard Leakey, President Moi, and the WMCD made the international news headlines when a stockpile of 12 tons of ivory was burned in 1989 in Nairobi National Park.

These successes saw David Western appointed to serve as Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) by retired President Moi in 1994. Others who served as KWS Directors are:

Brig. (Rtd) John Waweru

Kitili Mbathi

William Kiprono

Julius Kipng'etich

Michael Wamithi

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Nehemiah Rotich

Joseph Kioko

Evans Mukolwe

On 20 July 2011 Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki set on fire nearly 5 tonnes of elephant ivory (335 tusks), with an estimated value of US$16m.

On 30 April 2016, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta set alight the largest ever pile of ivory for destruction in the Nairobi National Park. The pile consisted of 105 tonnes of elephant ivory from about 8,000 elephants and 1.35 tonnes of horns from 343 rhinoceroses. Estimates for the total black market value of the destroyed contraband range from $150 million to $220 million. The ivory was transported to the site in shipping containers then stacked into towers up to 10 ft (3.0 m) tall and 20 ft (6.1 m) in diameter. The ivory towers took personnel from the Kenya Wildlife Service ten days to build. The pyre also contained exotic animal skins. The amount of ivory destroyed equaled about 5% of the global stock. Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba was also in attendance.

From Wikipedia’s article on Kenya Wildlife Service, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Community Wildlife Service

This branch of the KWS works outside the national parks. They work instead in areas such as wildlife corridors, and teach the communities living there to encourage conservation and look after their resources.

Security Services

The job of this service is to eliminate poaching in the national parks and stop illegal trade. The Kenyan government has also erected fences which keeps the precious animals/wildlife inside the national park.

The Kenya wildlife service, through its rangers, offer extensive patrols and protection of the country’s wildlife in its wild spaces and as a result hundreds of rangers have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Veterinary Services

This service ensures that healthy breeding populations of species are maintained throughout the country.

From Wikipedia’s article on Kenya Wildlife Service, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1990Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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