Renowned Kenyan Conservationist Dr. Richard Leakey Dies

Renowned Kenyan conservationist and former Head of Public Service Dr. Richard Leakey has died.

While announcing his death on Sunday, President Kenyatta eulogized Leakey as a globally renown Kenyan paleoanthropologist and conservationist, who has over the years served Kenya with distinction in several public service roles.

Leakey also served as the director of the National Museums of Kenya and Chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service Board of Directors.

“Besides his distinguished career in the public service, Dr Leakey is celebrated for his prominent role in Kenya's vibrant civil society where he founded and successfully ran a number of institutions among them the conservation organization WildlifeDirect,” Kenyatta said in a message of condolence.

Leakey, 77, was appointed the head of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department by President Moi in 1989. The department was later renamed Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in 1990, and Leakey became its first chairman.

During his time at KWS, Leakey was credited for dealing with the poaching of elephants and rhinos, as well as restoring the security of Kenya’s national parks.