The Kaptagat Forest fencing project has become the latest flashpoint in President William Ruto’s own political backyard.
Residents of Chepkorio in Keiyo South, Elgeyo Marakwet County, have voiced strong objections to the ongoing fencing of the Kaptagat Forest ecosystem. They accuse the state of pressing forward without genuine local dialogue.
During a recent protest, dissatisfied locals broke into “Wantam” (“one term”) chants. The slogan is tied to the political opposition movement against President Ruto’s administration. Protesters warned that the government’s handling of the Kaptagat Forest fencing plan could directly influence their votes in the 2027 General Election.
They also called on Democratic Change Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua to step in and help broker dialogue between the government and affected communities.
What makes this protest notable is where it’s happening. Elgeyo Marakwet is not a swing county, it is one of President Ruto’s most loyal strongholds. Below are the five key threads behind the standoff.
1. What the Kaptagat Forest Fencing Project Actually Involves
The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) is installing a solar-powered electric fence, put at approximately 273 kilometres, around the roughly 20,000-hectare Kaptagat ecosystem.
The project sits under the Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme (KICP). It’s a restoration initiative established in 2017 and spearheaded by National Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo. The stated goal is to curb illegal logging and grazing, reduce encroachment, and protect a water tower that supplies Eldoret and the broader North Rift.
KAPTAGAT FOREST ECOSYSTEM AT A GLANCE
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Total Area : ~20,000 hectares │
│ Forest Blocks: Kaptagat, Sabor, Penon, Kipkabus, Kessup │
│ Fence Length : ~273 km (solar-powered electric fence) │
│ Est. Cost : ~$2.68 million (int'l climate finance) │
│ Construction : Launched May 4, 2026 │
│ Objective : Curb illegal grazing, logging & encroachment │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘KFS officials maintain the project won’t shut neighbouring communities out. Controlled entry points and gates are meant to regulate legal access, including firewood collection, controlled grazing and herbal medicine gathering.
2. Why Public Participation Is the Real Sticking Point
The core dispute is whether local communities were meaningfully consulted before construction began.
Community position: Residents and livestock keepers in Keiyo South contend the fence threatens traditional access routes, ancestral land claims and grazing grounds. A related grievance adds legal weight to that complaint. The Keiyo Indigenous Community filed it with the UN Development Programme’s Social and Environmental Compliance Unit in February 2026. It alleges parts of the project were built across ancestral land, including burial sites, without free, prior and informed consent. That case remained under early-stage review even after fencing construction began.
State position: KFS points to public participation meetings held from May 20 to 24, 2024. These involved government officials, community representatives and environmental stakeholders. Officials say the forums explained project design and gate placements. They also addressed livelihood concerns through support like avocado, macadamia and coffee seedlings, dairy heifers, LPG cylinders and biogas installations.
Community reaction has been mixed rather than uniform. Some residents and Community Forest Association members back the fencing as necessary for long-term conservation. Others including the Chepkorio protesters say sensitisation hasn’t translated into real engagement or resolved land claims. The Standard has reported extensively on the region’s parallel infrastructure struggles, which feed directly into this trust gap.
3. Why “Wantam” Has Become the Protest’s Loudest Symbol
The “Wantam” chant is the signature slogan of the opposition movement associated with Gachagua. It demands a single term for President Ruto ahead of 2027. Over the past year it has surfaced repeatedly at public events far beyond political rallies.
That pattern shows how readily local grievances like the Kaptagat Forest fencing dispute — are now folded into national anti-government sentiment. By invoking the chant and calling on Gachagua directly, Chepkorio residents turned a conservation and land-use dispute into a live political flashpoint in the North Rift.
4. The Deeper Frustration: Unmet Promises in Ruto’s Backyard
Elgeyo Marakwet backed Ruto almost unanimously in 2022. IEBC-verified results put his share of the vote in the county at roughly 97%, among the highest of any county nationally. Residents say that overwhelming support was cast on the expectation of concrete development returns.
Several flagship promises have since become sources of frustration:
- Kenya Fluorspar Company revival. The government has repeatedly pledged to revive the collapsed Kimwarer fluorspar mine. A Sh4.8 billion deal signed with UK-linked investors was meant to restart operations and create thousands of jobs. Years on, the company remains shut held up by compensation disputes with displaced families, licensing delays, and logistical challenges.
- Kamariny Stadium. The historic Iten athletics venue home turf of stars like Geoffrey Kamwaror, David Rudisha and Saif Saeed Shaheen has undergone a long-delayed upgrade to a planned 10,000-seat facility. Kenya’s Auditor-General flagged that the project had already consumed Sh87 million by 2024 while remaining incomplete.
- Mashujaa Day relocation. Elgeyo Marakwet had been lined up to host the October 20, 2026 national Mashujaa Day celebrations at Kamariny Stadium. In July 2026, the government announced the event would instead be co-hosted in Eldoret City, officially because the stadium wouldn’t be ready in time.
- Presidential visits and local roads. Residents have also pointed to instances where the President was expected at county events but didn’t attend, plus slow progress on infrastructure like the Fluorspar Road and Chepkorio Stadium. Local social media accounts reported that residents blocked the highway at Kipsaos in Keiyo South after Deputy President Kithure Kindiki attended an event in the President’s place. This specific incident could not be independently confirmed through mainstream Kenyan news coverage at the time of writing.
5. What Happens Next for the Kaptagat Forest Fencing Dispute
The standoff underscores a broader national challenge: balancing state-led conservation with local land and livelihood rights, layered onto a county that feels it has waited a long time for reciprocity.
National agencies frame the fencing project as an essential safeguard for one of Kenya’s water towers. Affected communities insist that long-term environmental protection cannot come at the cost of local consent and that consent is now tangled up with a broader sense of whether the county’s political loyalty has been rewarded.
The project’s trajectory will likely depend on how the unresolved UNDP grievance is handled, and whether flagship promises like Fluorspar and Kamariny Stadium finally reach completion.
