The recent chaos at Nairobi National Park has once again exposed deep flaws in Kenya’s tourism leadership, particularly pointing fingers at Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano.
For someone tasked with protecting and promoting one of the most important economic sectors in the country, Miano’s silence and inaction in the face of this scandal only confirm the growing perception of incompetence.
Tourists waiting for hours to enter a national park is not just a minor operational hiccup, it’s a national embarrassment. Kenya’s reputation as a top travel destination depends heavily on the first impressions we give our visitors.
Long queues, favoritism at the gates, and frustrated tourists stuck in vans outside the park for hours paint an ugly image of mismanagement, poor planning, and lack of leadership.
Hon. Caleb Amisi shared a video that showed just how bad things have become. Tourists were visibly frustrated, and the footage exposed what many have whispered for years that the Kenya Wildlife Service plays favorites, letting some people skip the line while others are left stranded. In any other country, this kind of footage would trigger an immediate and public apology from the top leadership.
But not in Kenya, not under Rebecca Miano’s watch. Instead, Miano spent the same day posting about her yoga session online. The contrast couldn’t be more damning a CS meditating while her docket falls apart.
The Kenya Wildlife Service tried to manage the situation by recommending use of other gates and issuing a basic apology, but the damage was already done. Tourists don’t fly thousands of kilometers only to be told they should have used another entrance.
And while KWS is directly responsible for park operations, the bigger blame rests on Miano, who oversees the entire tourism docket. Her failure to acknowledge the issue, her lack of presence in offering solutions, and her clear detachment from real problems facing tourists shows she maybe unfit to lead the docket.
The public, led by figures like Hon. Amisi, demanded more than vague statements. They demanded action an apology, and even free tickets to make up for the embarrassment caused to our guests.
Rebecca Miano’s tenure has been full of missteps. From defending park fee hikes in 2024 to now failing to respond to a viral embarrassment, she has repeatedly shown that her focus is more on flashy PR than on fixing real issues.
Even her previous visit to the park to discuss wildfires now seems like a distraction from the urgent need to overhaul customer experience and operational systems.
What’s worse is that Nairobi was just ranked as a top global travel destination for 2025, and this kind of shameful incident could undo all the international goodwill and promotion.
How do we tell the world to visit Nairobi when the very first experience they face is mismanagement? Tourism is not just about advertising and events. It’s about making sure visitors have a smooth, respectful, and welcoming experience from the moment they land.
When that doesn’t happen, the country loses more than just ticket revenue it loses trust. The Nairobi National Park fiasco is more than a systems error but shows how there’s inactive leadership at the helm of the docket that earn the country a fortune.
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