Kaptagat Community Rejects Dr. Kiptoo’s Nomination as Environmental Champion

 

By Koech Caleb (Arap Simba)
Resident of Kaptagat | Youth Leader | Environmentalist

 As the National Heroes Council considers nominees for national recognition in environmental conservation, we, the residents of Kaptagat, wish to raise a red flag over the proposed nomination of Dr. Chris Kiptoo as an environmental champion linked to the Kaptagat Forest Integrated Conservation Programme.

While conservation is a noble cause, the reality on the ground paints a different picture from what is being portrayed in official circles.

Exclusion of Communities

Despite being spearheaded in our name, the conservation efforts under Dr. Kiptoo’s programme have systematically excluded the very communities who live around, depend on, and have historically protected Kaptagat Forest. The initiative—run largely through a private NGO associated with Dr. Kiptoo—has lacked transparency and operated without meaningful community participation.

The Fencing Controversy

The most alarming development is the ongoing fencing of Kaptagat Forest using solar-powered live wires, a project that continues despite overwhelming public opposition. Community members, including elders, women, and youth, have repeatedly rejected the plan in public meetings. Yet, it proceeds—fuelled by misinformation and the misuse of signatures collected under false pretenses.

Local chiefs were reportedly taken on a "benchmarking" trip, and later shocked to find their names attached to a report endorsing the fencing—without their knowledge or consent.

Threats to Culture and Livelihoods

This forest is more than trees and biodiversity. It is central to our culture, economy, and daily life. Our livestock graze here. Our women collect dry firewood. Our youth tend to tree nurseries. Traditional herbs used in healing, and sacred sites for rites of passage, are all found within this forest.

Fencing it off will cut off entire communities from their ancestral practices and survival tools.

Livelihood Inequity and Donor Funds

The so-called livelihood support programme associated with the conservation effort benefits a small circle of individuals—mostly outsiders or allies of the NGO leadership. Youth and women’s groups from the local area, who have invested time and resources into conservation-friendly activities like seedling production, are completely bypassed.

We are left to ask: Why is a senior government official so invested in a project that marginalizes locals? How much donor funding is involved, and where is it going?

Intimidation and Misrepresentation

Attempts to question the process are met with intimidation, and some who claim to represent us in environmental committees are strangers to this land. They do not speak for us. Their presence only undermines the principle of participatory conservation.

Our Stand

As a youth leader and environmentalist who was born and raised in Kaptagat, I am compelled to speak on behalf of my community. We are not against conservation. In fact, we are its custodians. But we demand a model that includes us, respects our rights, and upholds the values of fairness, transparency, and cultural integrity.

We categorically reject the nomination of Dr. Chris Kiptoo as an environmental champion in relation to Kaptagat Forest. Any such recognition would be a grave injustice to the people of this land and a betrayal of what true conservation stands for.

We are prepared to present audio and video evidence from various public forums to prove the community’s strong and consistent opposition to the fencing and exclusionary practices.

We call on the National Heroes Council to reconsider this nomination and to ensure that future awards reflect not just environmental progress—but justice, inclusivity, and the true spirit of national heroism.

Koech Caleb (Arap Simba)
Resident of Kaptagat
Youth Leader | Environmentalist