Pleasing Tourists And Guarding Ecosystems.

(From The Nation (Kenya) - AAGM)

Byline: Wycliffe Muga

After many years of seeing Kenyan drivers routinely breaking traffic regulations, earlier this year I had the experience of seeing the opposite: A local driver terrified of breaking the rules.

This was in Tsavo National Park, which I was visiting in the company of a group of foreign journalists. A pride of lions had been spotted under some trees in the distance, and one of the visitors was determined to get a close-up shot of the animals. He insisted that the driver gets off the road, and moves closer to the trees. He offered the driver a substantial sum for the favour.

The driver, who up to then had been falling over himself trying to please the visitors, flatly refused. He turned to me, and speaking rapidly in Kiswahili, said, "Please explain to them that I am not being disrespectful, but I simply …