[9:33 AM, 7/2/2019] Jeffers: n a drive to promote tourism through sporting events and opening up the Mt. Kenya National Park section of Meru County, Governor Kiraitu Murungi has toured the Kenya School of Adventure and Leadership(KESAL) at Marania, Ntirimiti in Buuri Sub County, where he held talks with the school management led by the Director, Dr. John Mwangi, and also inspected the ongoing preparations at the institution for the first Mountain racing event in the African continent which will be hosted in Meru County.

This comes after the Governor officially launched the Theemwe route to access Lake Ellis at the top of Mt. Kenya, which was also recently used to host the Meru County 4 by 4 Challenge to the lake, and entertained enthusiasts of Mountain motor racing Challenge from Meru County and other counties across Kenya.

"As a government we are working hard to open up Meru as a leading tourism destination in Kenya, and our Departments of Tourism, Sports and the Meru County Sports Council are working closely with Kenya Forest Service(KFS) and the Kenya Wildlife Service(KWS) to ensure this vision is realized," said Governor Kiraitu.


First Kenyan gold medalist in the 1987 World Athletics Championships in Rome, Mr. Douglas Wakihuri from Meru County Sports Council who is spearheading the preparations said that Meru County is primed for the event, because the Mt. Kenya track from KESAL through Marania meets the international standards of 2500m above see level and the terrain allows for the initial race track to be opened up the mountain up to 3500m above sea level in the moorland region.

"We are working to open up KESAL here in Meru to become a high altitude training ground for international athletes. There is only one such facility in Kenya at Iten in the Rift Valley, which is lower in altitude than KESAL Ntirimiti, at only 2500m, which means that Meru is at an advantage because KESAL is already at 2800m a.s.l.," said Mr. Wakihuri.

Both KWS and KFS have already thrown their support behind the County Government’s efforts to exploit the tourism potential of Meru's Mt. Kenya National Park section, saying that the initiative is well in line with their vision of ecotourism and conservation, where communities around the mountain benefit economically and conservation is encouraged in concurrence.

"We congratulate H.E. the Governor of Meru, Hon. Kiraitu Murungi for the vision he has for this region of Mt. Kenya with regard to ecotourism, because it is going to open up employment and other benefits to the community. Our technical committee of the board has already visited the area and given approval," said Beatrice Mbula the KFS Head of Eastern Conservancy.

The County aims to host the first race of 12km on the Marania track, which is expected to attract world class competitors, considering that two females athletes from Kibirichia have already taken part in the race internationally, held in Spain, and won top positions. The event is also expected to boost the tourism sector by bringing lovers of adventure to the County from all over the world.

Also present were Chief of Staff Hon. Gideon Kimathi, representatives from KWS, KFS, County Executive for Tourism Maingi Mugambi and the Department Chief Officer Titus Murungi, Sports Chief Officer Mercy Ndiira and Environment Department Chief Officer Lawrence Kinoti.
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