Tourism sector stakeholders marched in Nairobi on November 6, 2025, to protest new gateway charges for national parks, despite a court suspension. The charges, introduced by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, range from 5 to 8.5 percent on digital payments. Protesters demanded clarity on responsibility amid blame-shifting between government entities.
On Thursday, November 6, 2025, a group of tourism sector stakeholders staged a march from Uhuru Park to the Tourism Fund Offices along Valley Road in Nairobi. They opposed the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife's introduction of gateway fees, which they said have disrupted their business operations. The fees, part of a new digital payment system for national park entry, amount to a transaction processing charge of between 5 and 8.5 percent.
Protesters carried placards with messages such as “Gateway to Greed? Close it” and “Respect Court Rules: Stop New Park Fee Increase.” One representative called for government clarification on payment oversight, questioning whether the ministry, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), or eCitizen manages the system. “We are going to the Cabinet Secretary today, but we understand they are out of the country. If the Principal Secretary is available, we will talk to them. If they doesn’t respond, we will go to Parliament. KWS is not taking the blame, so they are pushing it to eCitizen. So, the director of eCitizen needs to respond to this because they have not issued any report or communicated,” the representative told the press.
Another protester highlighted ongoing finger-pointing among the Ministry, KWS, and eCitizen. “When you ask eCitizen, they say that Ministry of Tourism is the one that passes anything to do with eCitizen and is implementing what the ministry has requested. We want the ministry to say KWS, ministry, or eCitizen. The PS for eCitizen and Migration also needs to respond to this matter,” he said.
The demonstration focused on why the fees persist on eCitizen platforms despite a High Court suspension in October 2025. The suspension followed a petition by the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) and remains in effect pending a final ruling on November 25, 2025. The underlying fees stem from the Wildlife Conservation and Management (Access, Entry and Conservation) (Fees) Regulations 2025, which Parliament approved on September 25, 2025.