Friends of Karura Forest have called the Court order to stop building work at Rangers Village inside the forest ‘a significant step forward’.

Friends of Karura Community Forest Association and the Green Belt Movement filed the court case after the government announced last month that National Youth Service personnel would be housed in barracks consisting of an undisclosed number of containers at Rangers Village. Trees at the site were cut down and heavy machinery used to flatten the area which was cordoned off to the public and media.

A Court site visit on Monday this week was attended by representatives of both Friends of Karura and Kenya Forest Service. FKF representatives pointed out the clear signs of clearance and construction at the site.

After the visit, the Court ordered that the construction and development should stop pending further directions from the Court.

Last week, the Government told a joint meeting of Friends of Karura and Kenya Forest Service it had withdrawn plans to house the NYS personnel inside the forest but there was no written official communication despite repeated requests. At the weekend Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi stated: “nobody is going to touch Karura forest.”

The current Karura Forest Management Plan includes moving the rangers still living in Rangers Village to the Kenya Forest Service Headquarters. The land should be returned to indigenous forest.

“FKF warmly welcome the court order which is a significant step forward. We hope this decision will be made permanent at the next court hearing,”. said Prof Karanja Njoroge from the Friends of Karura Board. “We want to focus on co-managing the  forest according to our joint Forest Management Agreement and planting thousands of indigenous trees during the current rains.”

For further information or interview requests, please contact:
Professor Karanja Njoroge – Former Chair and FKF Board Member Tel: +254 729 030 301
Email: njokaranja@gmail.com