Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has approved the continuation of Prof. Erastus Mutembei Kanga as Director-General of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for another three-year period, commencing August 21, 2026, as outlined in the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act. The official announcement, published in the Government Gazette, also included multiple other state agency appointments across sectors like education, labor, transportation, water resources, and agriculture.
Kanga’s association with KWS predates his current role as Director-General. Prior to this position, he held a post as Secretary for Wildlife at the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage for approximately five years, and spent sixteen years within KWS, primarily engaged in biodiversity research and monitoring efforts.
His tenure as Director-General began in December 2022 when he temporarily assumed the role after Brigadier (Retired) John Waweru, the then-serving Director-General, was placed on compulsory leave. Kanga’s appointment was later formalized on August 2, 2023, following a competitive selection process. This reappointment extends a run at the agency’s helm that will now stretch to at least six years.
Read Also: KRA holds Sh5.1bn from rejected fuel shipment
Kanga’s second term was genuinely contested inside KWS’s own governance structures. His first substantive term expired this August, and the run-up to renewal was dominated by an accumulating record of institutional controversy rather than a settled consensus for continuity.
Corruption Scandals Emerge
According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in its August 2025 National Ethics and Corruption Survey, KWS was identified as the most corrupt public institution in Kenya. The agency accounted for about 35.7% of all bribery transactions nationwide during the survey period, with job applicants reportedly paying up to Sh200,000—far exceeding the national average bribe amount of under Sh5,000. The survey highlighted specific concerns, including a Sh740 million revenue-collection tender allegedly awarded to a company that submitted falsified documents, prompting EACC recommendations for legal action against senior officials involved.
A separate investigation by the Nairobi-based watchdog SEEJ-Africa, analyzing 774 court sessions and 125 ivory-trafficking cases between 2023 and 2025, revealed that roughly half of the prosecutions faced significant issues, such as disrupted evidence chains, conflicting witness statements, or procedural irregularities. The report ties structurally to KWS’s control of intelligence, arrests, exhibits and prosecution witnesses.
A fisherman who disappeared while in ranger custody remains unaccounted for; the accused rangers reportedly retained their positions throughout criminal proceedings. The Commission on Administrative Justice also directed Kanga in April 2026 to disclose snakebite fatality data within twenty-one days or face potential prosecution recommendations under the Access to Information Act, marking one of several transparency disputes that have drawn parliamentary scrutiny.
Read Also: Malawi tests direct cash payments to poor
Conservation Concerns Grow
Conservation groups have also raised concerns over the clearing of forestland within Nairobi National Park under an unpublicized license, allegedly to construct a convention-center parking area. This incident has intensified parliamentary inquiries regarding KWS’s oversight mechanisms.
Supporters of Kanga, including Cabinet Secretary Miano, argue that the agency’s challenges stem from longstanding systemic issues rather than individual failings. They cite KWS’s struggles with stagnant park fees for eighteen years, persistent underfunding, and decades of neglected infrastructure across protected areas. Continuity offers institutional memory during a fraught period of legislative review of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act itself.
These include the EACC’s and Parliament’s follow-through on corruption-related prosecutions, particularly those linked to the Sh740 million tender scandal. Additionally, the ongoing review of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act will be key, as whistleblowers have alleged that KWS leadership obstructed public engagement in the reform process. Whether chain-of-custody and evidence-handling failures identified by court monitors see any structural correction in Kanga’s second term.
Leave a Reply