Meru Deputy Governor Titus Ntuchiu this morning met and held discussions with board members of the Ngare Ndare Forest Trust led by Trust Chairman Mr. David Kinyua, former Chairman and investor Mr. Charlie Willer who is also a member of the Board, and Mr. John Kinoti, the Community Development Programme Manager for Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

They discussed at length on how Governor Kiraitu’s Government will continue partnering with the Trust to improve tourism and conservation of Ngare Ndare and especially the development of the internationally recognized 500m(0.5km) Ngare Ndare Forest Canopy Walk which is the second longest in Africa.

“Through the Department of Tourism which is led by County Minister Maingi Mugambi, we shall work closely with the Trust and the national government through the office of the County Commissioner to overcome any challenges that could come on the way of ensuring realization of the full tourism potential of Ngare Ndare Forest for the benefit of the people of Meru County and especially the communities living along the forest,” noted the DG.

He added that promotion and development of a world class tourism is Governor Kiraitu’s core agenda and major strides have been made towards its achievement. The Deputy Governor said Governor Kiraitu remains firmly focused in working with partners to achieve this objective as part of the vision of Making Meru Great.
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Meru county’s Bongo and Rhino conservation project has been chosen for presentation before the president of United Nations (UN) General Assembly Volkan Bozkir.

Deputy Governor Titus Ntuchiu chaired the first meeting of the Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Trust which deliberate on the progress of the establishment of the Meru Bongo and Rhino Sanctuary.

“The President will be visiting the country later this month and the Meru Bongo and Rhino Conservation Project has been picked to be presented as a way of showcasing community involvement in wildlife heritage conservation. This is a great honour to Meru County and we are eagerly waiting for this event that will put the county on an international map,” said Mr Ntuchiu.

Mr Ntuchiu noted that Governor Kiraitu Murungi intended to transform Meru into a leading tourist destination and making the tourism sector a key contributor to the dream of making Meru great when he brought together partners including Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and the Meru County communities bordering the forest.

“The Governor wanted these teams to come together and create a formidable force in developing the tourism sector in this County,” said Mr Ntuchiu.

He said the success achieved so far, where the project is drawing accolades and recognition from the UN is also attributed to the county government’s determination to transform livelihoods of Meru people through tourism.

He added: “This project will be repatriating the Bongo from Florida in the United States, which was indigenous to Mt Kenya but has since become extinct.”

In his manifesto Governor Kiraitu Murungi promised to promote Meru as a top tourist attraction site to bring income to the businesses in the county and give an opportunity to small scale farmers and traders in marketing their agricultural produce.

In this regard Department of Tourism Held a tourism excursion in the Meru National Park, that attracted hundreds of domestic tourists among them Veteran Radio Journalist Maina Kageni, received by Tourism Chief Officer Titus Murungi.


In his Speech Mr. Murungi highlighted various tourism projects and events that the county is embarked on among them development of a Safari walk and rehabilitation of Lake Nkunga , Cultural tourism site development in the Njuri Ncheke shrine and Igombe multicolored Lake among other excursion sites and events.