ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo Visits Nairobi National Park

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International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo bonds with the famous Sharon the cheetah that is available for adoption following the recent launch of the Namayiana Wildlife Adoption programme by the Kenya Wildlife Service

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Friday 6, 2009 showed his softer side when he took time off official business and spent the better part of the morning enjoying Kenya’s world famous wildlife.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he was particularly impressed by the foresight Kenya had in having a national park within earshot of a bustling city. “It’s amazing to have a national park within a capital city. It must have taken a lot of sacrifice,” he noted.

The ICC prosecutor, who was accompanied by Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Hon Mutula Kilonzo, and Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Amina Mohamed, was taken on an early morning game drive by National Park Senior Warden Michael Wanjau. Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he was fascinated by the sight of graceful giraffes, warthogs and two white rhinos. The two rhinos were among 10 others that were recently moved from Lake Nakuru National Park. Mr Moreno-Ocampo commended the park’s management for the thoughtfulness in developing the Impala Picnic site, which provides a 360-degree view of the whole park.

He was later taken around the Nairobi Animal Orphanage where he came face to face with the three-month cheetah baby named “Lightning Bolt” that was recently adopted by Jamaican Sprinter Usain St Leo Bolt.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo showed keen interest in lions especially ‘Agwambo’, the eight-month old lion also adopted by the Prime Minister Rt. Hon Raila Odinga last week during the launch of the Namayiana Wildlife Adoption programme by the Kenya Wildlife Service.

The Namayiana Wildlife Adoption Programme is one of the activities KWS is rolling out in the build up to the launch of an endowment fund to support Kenya’s wildlife heritage.
The fund seeks to raise Sh7.5 billion (US$100 million) over 10 years to facilitate conservation of Kenya’s wildlife through challenges of climate change, drought, changing land use and high population growth. The fund is also meant to cushion wildlife conservation from over-reliance on volatile tourism trends. The kitty will support wildlife and community conservation efforts for generations to come, and will be used for security operations, research and monitoring, translocations, infrastructure, conservation education and other conservation requirements.