Tthe Land and Environment Court in Meru has once again halted the construction of a proposed airstrip, state lodge, and golf course inside the Imenti Forest.
Justice Oguttu Mboya issued the temporary freeze after five Meru residents – Mugambi Imanyara, Charles Mutuma, Mwenda Kirera, Michael Koome, and Douglas Mwiti – filed a fresh petition against the project. The residents are suing the Meru County Government, the Kenya Forest Service, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), and the Attorney General.
The court gave the respondents 14 days to disclose and file all project-related documents, including approvals, Environmental Impact Assessment reports, licenses, permits, maps, acreage surveys, feasibility studies, public participation records, and agreements.
Furthermore, the orders authorized the petitioners or court-appointed experts to inspect the flagged portions of Imenti Forest to prepare a comprehensive status report. The court order firmly maintains the current status quo, effectively blocking any ongoing or planned developments until a judge hears and determines the matter.
“In the meantime, and taking into account the provisions of Articles 69 and 159[2][b] of the Constitution, 2010; and bearing in mind the likely consequences of the intended project, there be and is hereby granted an Interim Conservatory Order in terms of prayer two of the application pending the return date or until further orders of the Court,” Justice Mboya ordered.
The court will hear the matter next on June 30, 2026.
The petitioners argue that the proposed development threatens a gazetted public forest, which serves as a vital water catchment zone, biodiversity habitat, and environmental resource for both Meru County and the wider nation.
“The Respondents have failed to disclose Environmental Impact Assessment reports, feasibility studies, approvals, maps, acreage surveys and other statutory documents relating to the project. The proposed development threatens to cause irreversible environmental degradation and destruction of forest resources,” the petitioners told the court.
Despite the court order, Forestry Principal Secretary Gitonga Mugambi defended the project, maintaining that the airstrip aims to protect Mount Kenya forest. Speaking at the Meru University of Science and Technology Innovation Conference, Mugambi explained that the facility would allow authorities to conduct aerial surveillance over the expansive ecosystem.
“The Mt Kenya forest covers 600,000 acres and some of it has been destroyed. We have even noted bhang growing in Tharaka Nithi area. We cannot know what is happening in the forest because we do not have aerial surveillance. I have been accused of destroying the forest but what we are doing is setting up a KFS operation base to strengthen surveillance and monitoring,” he said.
Mugambi dismissed critics of the ongoing airstrip project, asserting that many opponents are the very individuals destroying the forest, and stated that the government intends to launch flights to stop them. He explained that authorities will use the airstrip to deploy surveillance drones and aircraft for aerial reseeding with seed balls.
The Principal Secretary defended the decision to build inside the ecosystem, arguing that sacrificing eight acres will ultimately help save the entire 600,000-acre forest. PS Mugambi also expressed frustration with the frequency of lawsuits in the country, noting that fifteen separate court orders previously stalled his department’s efforts to revive Panpaper Mills.
