The British Stranglehold on Kenya and Empty-belly Freedoms
In early 2000s, an outfit started by a Dutch billionnaire, Paul van Vlissingen, tries to take over some of Kenya’s national parks. Around the time, the outfit, African Parks, had adopted an audacious strategy of taking over national parks in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of us writing on conservation then could not believe that yurugus could be that daring. But we were naive because much of Africa was (still is) manned by hollow men and women.
Soon, Vlissingen approaches late Richard Leakey who was then the Vice Chair of KWS Board of Trustees. (Late Charles Njonjo was the Chairman). Leakey deploys the then KWS Director and a very noisy conservation evangelist to South Africa to negotiate the deal (yaani, to start the process of handing over Kenya’s national park to a moneyed yurugu!). ‘The Eastafrican’ publishes the story. Kibaki government is so pissed off that it sacks the director!.
Later (i.e. 2006) Vlissingen dies. But African Parks grows in strength and audacity. It convinces many hollow men and women ruling much of sub-Saharan Africa to hand over many of their countries’ national parks to it saying that it’ll spruce them up and bring on board good management. As we speak, African Parks has taken over 22 national parks in South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique, South Sudan, Chad, CAR, Benin, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Angola. These parks are today managed by private companies or subsidiaries of African Parks.
Guess what?
Ian Craig is on the board of one of the companies (i.e. Akagera Management Company) that is in-charge of the Akagera Park in Rwanda (I thought Kagame was different!). Ian craig is the same fellow who started the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) in 2004 and has managed – with lots of funding from most countries in the West- to have a say on some 8% of Kenya (i.e. over 10 million acres!).
(See: https://www.africanparks.org/about-us/our-people/park-boards/akagera_
Again, guess what?
African Parks lists the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of Britain as one of its strategic partners. Those who know will tell you that Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office was created in 1966, after the British merged the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Colonial Office. The following is the main role of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office
“…We pursue our national interests and project the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens…”
(see: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about).
It is no wonder that the dumb prince Harry is now the president of African Parks.
What Am I saying?
1: Look at the map of conservancies started by the NRT and look at the minerals occurrence map of Kenya. If keen, you’ll notice what we mean when we talk about manufactured coincidences with Mordecai Ogada in ‘The Big Conservation Lie.’
2: Go further; look at the Oil Block map of Kenya. You’ll notice that the oil blocks take up a whopping 440,000 square-kilometers of our motherland and that nearly all of them are licensed to British, Canadian or Australian companies. This, if you forgot, is about 78% of the country 50 millions of us call our common home!!!
3: After the Kibaki government disallowed African Parks from taking over our national parks, they didn’t give up. They have been sniffing around Isiolo County where they wanted to take over Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves. Again, they were frustrated by the local errant natives. But they have not given up. Remember these people operate on old and new money. So money is not a problem for them. They will continue and might eventually takeover our national parks because, (again as we say in ‘The Big Conservation Lie’), national parks are the greatest repositories of our mineral wealth.
If you have the info, please let me know; when will Kenya get independence? Am asking because what we have are empty belly freedoms. The British still own what defines the country
KGOSINKOTSI 📚 