Kenya has agreed to settle a Ksh 339 million debt owed to a French investor following a long-running dispute with Meru County Government over eviction from a lease in Meru National Park, a matter that escalated into diplomatic pressure between Nairobi and Paris after the French government signalled it would review funding for projects in Kenya if the issue remained unresolved.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi told the Senate Finance Committee that the intervention followed discussions between President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron, with the national government now set to assume the payment after courts upheld an arbitral award in favour of the investor, which has since grown due to accrued interest.