Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa has announced that the government may consider suspending Kenya Forest Service (KFS) officers over rising concerns of forest encroachment.
Speaking during an interdenominational service in Teso North, Busia County, the CS noted that the move is being weighed following public outcry over increasing unlawful developments, particularly within forests around the Nairobi metropolis, allegedly for commercial purposes.
Barasa stressed that KFS officers have no mandate to permit construction or any non-conservation activity within forest land and should strictly focus on the protection and sustainable management of forest cover.
“We will not, as a government, accept the invasion of our forests. Any KFS officers involved in such activities must know that stern action will be taken, including possible suspension,” Barasa warned.
Barasa, who was responding to a recent incident where KFS was under pressure after civil groups exposed plans to construct a hotel within an 8-acre piece of land within Ngong Road Forest in Nairobi, maintained that the government will champion the conservation of forests and would not allow encroachments.
Her comments come less than a day after the government, through the Chief Conservator of Forests, bowed to public pressure and suspended the planned construction of an eco-camp within Ngong Road Forest.
The move followed widespread concerns raised on social media, prompting the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to admit that it had granted permission for the project.
According to the KFS, the contested site where the eco-camp was being developed is designated as an ecotourism zone in the Ngong Road Forest Green Master Plan. KFS stated that the plan was developed, validated, and adopted through extensive stakeholder engagement and public participation.
The agency further clarified that the bush eco-camp project was approved through a procedural process, having undergone environmental assessment with no significant negative impacts identified.
The project, however, lacked clarity and raised several critical questions, including the identity of the private developer, how access and permits to a protected forest were granted, and whether public participation was conducted as required by law, according to the Green Belt Movement, a civil society organisation focused on conservation.
Meanwhile, KFS noted in a statement released earlier that the ongoing development inside the forest was aimed at establishing a premier green space for Nairobi residents and alleviating the substantial visitor pressure on Karura Forest.
Notably, the entity announced that the establishment of the luxurious camp recently received a financial boost from a local bank, which pledged to contribute Ksh200 million to facilitate the construction.
KFS revealed that once the construction is complete, it would institute strict measures for those seeking to spend time inside the camps, adding that fees would be paid directly via government payment platforms.
