A Nakuru Law Court has ruled against WildlifeDirect’s application filed in court for an injunction as well as a petition against the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Naivasha Love Festival over the Koroga Festival which is planned on February 14 - 15 at Hells Gate National Park.
It was, therefore, a real shock and surprise to hear that in one of Kenya’s jewels of its protected areas which is under direct KWS protection, Hell’s Gate National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty and a key breeding site for globally Critically Endangered species, that an event of extremely high disturbance and impact, the Koroga Music Festival, was being organised and supported by KWS!
The true history of Hell's Gate and why mistakes made in the past by allowing public events should not be an excuse to continue destroying the park. Instead, it should be rescued, rehabilitated and protected against further degradation.
Many people are shocked, as I am, by the approval given to hold two large-scale public events in Hell’s Gate National Park later this year. The Koroga Love Festival, on 14–15 February, and the East African leg of the World Rally Championship, programmed for July, will attract thousands of people to the Park for activities that are unconnected with wildlife conservation.
