Sammy Kenga was once among the notorious sea turtle trappers along the shores of Watamu in Kilifi County in the early 2000s.

In his community, turtles were considered a delicacy, and Kenga hunted them for food.

Back then, the beaches were littered with the shells and bones of slaughtered turtles, a grim testament to rampant poaching. Kenga, however, was not as ruthless as others who hunted the creatures for their meat and oil, which were sold on a thriving black market.