A recent controversy over alleged plans to annex portions of Karura Forest has stirred emotions among conservationists, prompting heated responses and legal challenges.
The Kenya Forest Service (KFS), however, insists that the actual road expansion along Kiambu Road does not amount to grabbing forest land, but rather utilizes an existing wayleave that has been in place since the colonial era.
“Kiambu Road wayleave was gazetted in 1951 and hence has been in existence within Karura Gazetted Forest since the pre-independence era,” reads a Twitter statement from the KFS, countering reports that the project will carve out a massive chunk of the forest.
This assurance comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the Green Belt Movement, the renowned environmental lobby group founded by the late Wangari Maathai, challenging what they see as encroachment onto the protected green space.
The group asserts that the planned works equate to handing over 51.64 acres of Karura Forest for road expansion, although KFS contends that only a 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) section that is slated for an interchange will be affected.
“Therefore the intended expansion of Kiambu Road will be within the wayleave and the notion that Karura Forest is being given out for expansion of Kiambu Road is false, save for the planned interchange measuring 2.2Ha (5.4Acres),” KFS stated.
STATUS OF KARURA FOREST WAYLEAVE Kenya Forest Service seeks to clarify a matter regarding the status of Karura Forest wayleave. Kiambu Road wayleave was gazetted in 1951 and hence has been in existence within Karura Gazetted Forest since the pre -independence era.
— Kenya Forest Service (@KeForestService) December 11, 2024
The Green Belt Movement took to social media, urging Kenyans to protect what they term a vital ecosystem. “The Green Belt Movement has moved to court to stop the government’s plan to annex 51.64 acres of Karura Forest for expansion of Kiambu Road,” they wrote on X.
They also stressed the significance of this land area by illustrating that 51.64 acres equate to about 28 standard football pitches, making clear their concerns over the ecological impact of losing such a significant portion of tree cover.
Beyond just Kiambu Road, the Green Belt Movement is also at loggerheads with the Nairobi County Government over decisions that could commercialize the city’s few remaining green spaces.
“Not again Governor Sakaja. Uhuru Park and Central Park are public property. We will not watch as you privatise the only remaining green spaces in Nairobi. See you back in court on December 10, 2024, for the hearing of the ongoing petition about these two parks,” they declared, signaling another brewing legal battle. The governor however clarified that the commercial activities advertised for Uhuru Park were all recreational in nature, like boat riding.
With Nairobi’s population steadily growing and infrastructure demands mounting, the resolution of such disputes may shape the future of urban conservation in the Kenyan capital.
