Karura Forest will lose only a fraction of land to the Kiambu Road expansion after the Environment and Land Court trimmed the allocation to 0.1233 hectares, overturning a previous green light for 51.64 acres.
The judgment also nullified two special user licences granted by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), with the court faulting the process for lacking public consultation.
The ruling follows a case filed in 2024 by the Green Belt Movement, which moved to block government plans to annex part of the forest for the project.
The conservation group, co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, told the court that a private developer intended to carry out the dualling of the road without the required Environmental Impact Assessment approvals from either KFS or the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
It further argued that approvals issued for the construction, as well as for a recreational facility and an ablution block, fell short of legal thresholds.
Read More
KFS defended its actions, saying the proposed works lie within an established road reserve that has been part of Karura since before independence.
The agency noted that the wayleave was gazetted in 1951 and insisted that, apart from a 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) interchange, there was no plan for a large-scale land allocation.
The court’s decision effectively curbs any significant intrusion into one of Nairobi’s most prominent urban forests, reaffirming the legal weight of public participation in altering protected lands.
