Maasai festival faces protests over unpaid bills, cattle compensation

It's all systems go for the fourth edition of the annual Maa Cultural Festival, slated for November 10-14, 2026, amid boycott calls over alleged unpaid bills from the previous event.

Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu. Residents have protested the killing of livestock by police during a security operation in Samburu County. [File, Standard]

As the organisers of the event met in Narok on Tuesday, a section of Maa leaders, led by East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP David Ole Sankok, called for a boycott.

Sankok raised the issue of the killing of livestock in Samburu County by security personnel during a security operation, arguing that the celebrations should not continue until the government compensates the herders.

“Cattle haters will go to the Maasai cultural festival to celebrate in Narok, but cattle lovers and Maa defenders will go to Laresoro, Samburu East, unless Samburu cattle are paid in a Maa culturally accepted method (Enyamu),” he said.

Source: Standard