Science - USA (2022-02-18)

PHOTO: MARION KAPLAN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

SCIENCE science.org

By Paula Kahumbu

R

ichard Leakey, renowned paleoan-

thropologist, wildlife conservation-

ist, and pro-democracy activist, died

on 2 January. He was 77. Forthright

and courageous, Richard nurtured

the emergence of a new generation

of scientists in postcolonial Africa. He faced

frequent threats to his life with a fierce deter-

mination that at times bordered on reckless-

ness. His achievements defied his treatment

as an outsider by mainstream academics.

Richard was born in Nairobi on 19

December 1944, when Kenya was still a

British colony. The second son of ar-

chaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey, he

left school without qualifications and

found himself drawn, unwillingly at

first, toward his parents’ profession. In

1967, he observed fossil-rich sedimen-

tary rocks on the shore of Lake Turkana

in northern Kenya. Over the next 20

years, his expeditions to the area un-

covered hundreds of human fossil re-

mains, including several intact skulls

that called into question established

ideas about human evolution. This re-

search culminated in the discovery, in

1975, of “Turkana Boy,” the almost com-

plete skeleton of an early hominid who

died 1.6 million years ago.

In 1963, Richard became a citizen of

newly independent Kenya. He carried out his

groundbreaking paleoanthropology work not

from a university but in his role as director

of the National Museums of Kenya. Richard

took the job in 1968 at age 23 and held the

post for 20 years, during which time he trans-

formed the organization into one of Africa’s

leading scientific research institutions.

Unlike many white Kenyans of his gen-

eration, Richard spoke fluent Kiswahili. He

moved effortlessly between the white scien-

tists who still dominated wildlife conserva-

tion organizations, the emerging Black ruling

class, and young up-and-coming Black scien-

tists and community leaders. Richard rarely

talked publicly about race, but racism and

gender inequality infuriated him. The diver-

sity of the people closest to him was a reflec-

tion of his inclusive nature.

I first knew Richard as a knowledgeable

and patient neighbor who helped me care for

small animals that my siblings and I caught

in the gardens. He encouraged my interest

in the natural world and, when I finished

high school, found me an internship at one

of many research groups he had set up at the

National Museums of Kenya. I was just one of

many young Kenyans he mentored. Possibly

mindful of his own problems in getting ac-

cepted by academia, he urged his protégés,

many of whom are now prominent scientists

and conservationists, to obtain a doctorate

(master’s degrees were “a waste of time”).

In 1989, Kenya’s president made Richard

director of the Kenya Wildlife Service and

charged him with ending the rampant ivory

poaching that was decimating the country’s

elephant population. Richard acted deci-

sively, dismissing corrupt officials, creating

armed antipoaching units that were author-

ized to shoot on sight, and publicly burning

Kenya’s ivory stockpiles. This high-profile

demonstration of African opposition to the

ivory trade was a pivotal moment for global

conservation; it influenced the decision by

the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species to ban all international

trade in ivory and shaped discourse on ele-

phant conservation for decades to come.

Richard’s uncompromising approach

made him many enemies. He left the Kenya

Wildlife Service in 1994, shortly after los-

ing both legs in an airplane crash that was,

he was convinced, the result of sabotage.

Characteristically, he returned immediately

to the fray by founding Africa’s first avowedly

multiracial political party—Safina, meaning

“Noah’s ark” in Kiswahili—to oppose the

vested interests that he saw as the principal

obstacle to Africa’s development. Elected to

parliament, he distinguished himself as an

advocate for the rights of disabled people be-

fore being recalled to government service in

1998. As head of the Kenyan Civil Service, he
      was tasked with rooting out government cor-
      ruption, which was putting support from the
      World Bank and other donor agencies at risk.
      Once again, his measures, although effective,
      proved politically unacceptable, and he re-
      signed in 2002 after the Kenyan parliament
      voted to outlaw his anti-corruption reforms.
      I worked for Richard at the National
      Museums of Kenya; at the Kenya Wildlife
      Service; and in his latest initiative,
      WildlifeDirect, an environmental nongovern-
      mental organization linking donors directly
      to conservation projects through blog posts
      from the front line. This innovative use of
      technology reflected Richard’s understand-
      ing of the power of storytelling. A master
      storyteller in his lectures and books, he saw
      the internet as an opportunity to give voice
      to African conservationists and to raise
      money to support their work. Richard
      tirelessly promoted WildlifeDirect’s tel-
      evision series, Wildlife Warriors, which
      tells the stories of Africa’s frontline con-
      servation heroes. He came to believe
      that television was “the most powerful
      force for conservation in Africa.”
      In his final years, Richard’s passion
      for storytelling and his enduring love
      for Turkana came together in an am-
      bitious project to create a “Museum
      of Humankind” in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
      Never one to do things halfway, he com-
      missioned the architect of the World
      Trade Center site in New York City to
      design a futuristic building inspired by
      the shape of ancient stone axes. The
      museum’s ambitious twin goals of present-
      ing “more than 2 million years of human
      history and the origins of our universe” were
      inspired by Richard’s belief that “by showing
      people the amazing journey of humanity, we
      can shift paradigms and change the world.”
      Richard’s impact on me and so many oth-
      ers was incalculable. As a mentor, he opened
      doors, made introductions, and challenged
      my preconceptions. As a friend, he was
      the go-to person for advice on everything:
      an eye operation, relationships, university
      choices, or business deals. He had an ex-
      traordinary capacity to singularly focus on
      the issue or person at hand while juggling
      many ideas and projects, as well as an in-
      credible memory and a need for intellec-
      tual discourse. So vast was his network that
      many in his close circle of friends had never
      met each other. His legacy lives on in the
      hundreds of people who had the privilege
      of calling him a mentor. j
      10.1126/science.abo2200

RETROSPECTIVE

Richard Leakey (1944—2022)

Renowned conservationist and advocate for African scientists

WildlifeDirect, Nairobi, Kenya. Email: [email protected]

18 FEBRUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6582 723