NAIVASHA, Kenya – The Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI Kenya) was one institution that stood out as the thunder of strong engines reverberated over the stunning scenery of Hell’s Gate National Park in Naivasha.
Naivasha, located in Nakuru County, hosted the WRC Safari Rally 2025 grand finale.
It was a magnificent event that not only included top-tier motorsport but also strengthened the nation’s standing as a top international travel destination.
Following the event, the Institute’s Director General, Dr. Patrick Omondi, revealed that as an Institute, they are building strong partnerships, which is at the heart of their mission as outlined in their Strategic Plan (2023-2027).
“As an institution, we are forging strong local and international partnerships to enhance research, training, capacity building and information sharing,” explained Dr. Omondi.
How WRTI leveraged on the 2025 WRC to build partnerships
As the environment is being restored and spectators enjoy the rally, Dr. Omondi reiterated that there is a dire need to also be very sensitive to the environment.
“We are a government-state corporation, and our role is to coordinate wildlife research and also build capacity, and we are excited that we are in talks with WRC, Kenya Safari Rally, to see whether we can take a specific course of rallying because rallying is not just about driving,” said Dr. Omondi.
This, he said, is in line with the government policy on building the capacity of the Kenyan youth on specialised courses.
“We are hoping we will also be able to build partnerships so that we can have a new hostel for students as CSR from the rally. We are hosting the largest service bay for the rally vehicles, the largest in the world,” added Dr. Omondi.
As an institute, they also offer hospitality services.
“We are excited that during the rally we were able to generate revenue because all our hostels were fully booked and all our guest rooms were full throughout the rally, and we are hoping that we shall also be able to build partnerships with the rally so that we can even have a new hostel for students as a CSR from the rally competition and probably WRC because we are hosting the largest service bay for the rally in the world. So, it would be really good for the rally to leave a footprint by promoting our mandate of training,” explained Dr. Omondi.
What was WRTI role during the WRC Safari Rally
Dr. Omondi indicated that the institute’s role during the rally was to prepare the environmental sustainability plan to mitigate any negative impact on the environment as the competition got underway.
“So, we did this in 2021; we have a very comprehensive waste management plan ensuring that all the rally routes and all the service bays where the institute is located are free of bins and particularly plastics because we have a government plastic ban in all our national parks and protected areas,” explained the director general.
Dr. Omondi disclosed that the plan details how the entire exercise is undertaken and how waste is collected and disposed of after the competition.
“We also came up with a plan to map out all the wildlife routes. The corridors, the special areas, were the rally routes, and together with marshals and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers, we ensured that no animals were knocked by the racing cars. Since 2021, we have not had any incident that involves any animal, meaning that our environment sustainability plan is effective, and we are hoping that moving forward, it will be the same,” he explained.
Why WRTI is keen on the post-WRC Safari Rally
According to Dr. Omondi, the other area of the institute that neighbours the venue of the event is post-rally.
“As an institute, we have started tree nurseries to ensure that we have restoration. Meaning that where we have opened up for the rally competition, we plant indigenous trees so that some areas will allow the grazers and some areas are restored by planting other trees,” explained Dr. Omondi.
Against this background, he said during this year’s series, they called upon partners to support them in their sustainability initiatives.
“The major corporate partners are the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB). We would wish to partner with them in setting up a very large tree nursery with indigenous trees so that post-rally, we do the restoration, and this will be in line with the government’s policy of planting the 15 billion trees by 2030,” added Dr. Omondi.
