All eight baobab trees imported from Kenya to a botanical park in the state of Georgia have died.

The giant trees from Kilifi County were purchased in 2022 by George Gvasaliya, a Georgian entrepreneur, nature lover and environmentalist, through Ariba Weeds International Company to create a botanical garden.

Gvasaliya exports baobabs – Africa’s largest, oldest and most mythical trees – to botanical gardens around the world.

The former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili was behind the purchase and export of the medium to large deciduous trees.

The park administration released a statement claiming that a local political party and the media it controls were against the botanical park, which opened in 2020 with funds from Mr Ivanishvili.

“They are persistently trying to destroy this unique initiative, as well as its originator and implementer. This is exactly what happened with the transplanting of some baobab trees from Kenya,” said a statement in a Georgian News article on Friday, August 9, 2024.

The statement said that as soon as the matter became public, secret politicians and their so-called non-governmental organizations began an ideological struggle against the project.

“Due to their false interceptions and alarmist complaints, the process of transplanting the plants, which was carried out in full compliance with all laws, was significantly delayed,” the minister said.

The statement added that leaders of the party, which is now in opposition, launched a smear campaign and made endless phone calls to senior officials in the Kenyan government to prevent the export.

To hamper the process, the statement said, false experts were brought in, facts were distorted and Kenyan baobabs were mistakenly confused with Madagascar baobabs, which are listed in the Red Book.

As a result, those responsible for the project had to repeatedly obtain the same plant health reports and permits from different authorities and lost a lot of time in the endless bureaucratic confusion.

“Although justice ultimately prevailed in Africa and all false allegations were dismissed by the Kenyan courts and law enforcement agencies, they (the party) still managed to damage the project,” the statement said.

Due to the delays, the trees uprooted in 2021 could not reach Georgia until October 2023 due to artificially created obstacles.

It wasn’t until November 8, 2023 that they were finally planted in the ground in Georgia.

Until then, the African “giants” had to endure being uprooted for almost two years under completely unsuitable environmental conditions, which also lacked adequate care.

“Unfortunately, this stress took its toll on these unique plants and six to seven months after being planted in the soil in Georgia, all eight baobabs withered,” the statement said.

The administration of the Dendrological Park points out that several previously transplanted baobab trees are still thriving in Shekvetili and Tbilisi.

There were no artificial delays in the transplanting, the process was completed within a reasonable time and all trees benefited from the creation of suitable conditions.

“This should have happened this time too, but unfortunately the interference of some people ended tragically. This once again shows the unhealthy and harmful nature of the so-called ‘opposition forces’ based in Georgia. The style and nature of their actions clearly remind us of the actions of the previous government,” the Dendrological Park said in a statement.

The export of the trees came despite protests from environmental activists who said it violated the Convention on Biological Diversity, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Kenya is a signatory.

The Kaya elders also opposed the export and demanded compensation from the government for carrying out urgent rituals to appease their gods.

In the Mijikenda community, baobab trees are sacred shrines and homes for “gods.”

After learning of the death of the baobabs on Sunday, environmental activists spoke to The Nation newspaper and called on the new Environment Minister, Aden Duale, to abide by the law and protect the country’s heritage.

Francis Kagema, Nature Kenya’s coastal programme officer, said Kenya should monetise its heritage, as it has done with the export of baobabs.

“There are things we should not convert into money, otherwise we will sell our children because they have the best body organs,” he said.

“We tried everything to protect the trees. We put facts on the table, but the government beat us up, the president stopped the export and later allowed it again. We don’t know what happened, but most likely money was exchanged.”

Mr Kagema said conservationists believe this is not the right thing to do.

“Our regulators have been compromised and have allowed the trees to leave the country,” he said.

Mr Kagema argued that the trees could survive in Georgia because the Mijikenda’s beliefs and wishes had been violated.

“We Mijikenda are convinced that if we do not get approval from them on certain matters, we will face bad luck. This means that there are traditional and cultural issues related to the trees that must be resolved first before we can take them anywhere,” he said.

Mr Kagema said they would seek a court injunction to stop Mr Gvasaliya from uprooting any more trees.

“We are referring the matter to the law and we trust the law. We will go to court very early and that is the only solution in Kenya,” he said.

Human rights lawyer Sophia Rajab said the death of the baobabs was sad for environmental activists.

“I feel that the trees are a clear statement that Kenya is my home. Watching the trees being transported from their plots onto ships under police escort and then driven away was like watching an animal going to the slaughterhouse. Their fate was sealed,” she said.

She said that during terrible droughts, only the majestic baobab trees remained in the vast arid and semi-arid land.

“Our indigenous sacred trees must be protected. We tell our President William Ruto and our Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale that our country’s ecosystem is not for sale,” she said.

Last year, the National Parliamentary Committee on Environment accused the National Environment Management Authority, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service and the Kenya Forest Service of a lack of transparency and suspected massive corruption in connection with the baobab issue.

The Kenya Forest Service stated that the baobab is not an endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Redlist) and is not protected in Kenya.