DICHOL

There is a truth that would be disturbing if it were a fact. That, before this series was posted in  September 2025, there is probably no Kenyan of African origin to photograph the black leopards of Laikipia. 

Giza Mrembo is the most famous black leopard of the three that reside in a research Conservancy in Northern Kenya. Her name means “the beautiful darkness” in Swahili, and she is a rare melanistic leopard, characterised by an excessive accumulation of dark pigment. Wildlife enthusiasts and photographers highly seek after Giza Mrembo due to her elusive nature and distinctive appearance.

I do not want to wear a crown that does not belong to me (if anything this trip was a collaborative effort with a colleague in the industry), but I have searched and not found a single black Kenyan photographer who has documented this beauty.  I could be wrong, and I hope I am. 

The irony needs no advocate – it speaks for itself. That this is a black leopard, on Kenyan land, our own national heritage, yet not a single black Kenyan has photographed it (professionally, that is). If there are, they cannot possibly be more than a fistful.

This is not for lack of interest, but simply because we cannot afford it. Where this leopard resides is conservancy land that is focused on research (not tourism) so access is damn near impossible for your regular photographer.  But there is a premium lodge just on the edge of the conservancy’s boundary.  The main attraction is Giza because she often strays from the conservation land into their property. All those images you see of this animal are by incredible photographers from all over the world, yet seldom from here. 

This is exactly what they meant when they said photography has little to do with cameras. So even as I share these images, I do so not only with pride as a black Kenyan photographer, but also with trepidation because it is crazy that we are priced out of telling our own stories. 

I call this series Dichol. Which is Dholuo (my mother tongue) for “Black Beauty”. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the black pantheress of Kenya. A walking, breathing, stunning contradiction of our Kenyan wilderness.