Nairobi governor, Johnson Sakaja, has cleared the air on the continuing exercise of cutting trees in Nairobi Central Business District.
Sakaja in a statement on Friday, September 23 said that the trees were pruned after a section of pedestrians cried foul over the Marabou stork’s invasion.
“I have been assured that the pruning done after the outcry by pedestrians due to the recent Marabou stork’s invasion was procedural and that the tree shall be nurtured,” Sakaja stated
However, the governor also revealed that he was upset with the pruning exercise but assured that he will plant more tress in the city.
“I reiterate, we will increase our tree cover in the city. I was upset as you all but the tree will grow” Sakaja stated.
The Marabou stork is a large wading bird in the stork family that mainly breeds in South Africa and the Sahara. Although sometimes it is called the undertaker bird due to its shape. The birds mainly like to live near human habitation.
As scavengers, they hunt and eat dead materials. Owing to the undergoing construction in Nairobi County, the birds were forced to relocate to dump sites and places they can nest. They thus sought shelter in trees within the County.
The birds first invaded the city after the government started to work on road projects around the Nyayo Stadium.
During the construction of the Nairobi Expressway, many trees along Mombasa road were cut down forcing the Marabou Storks to relocate.
They then migrated to the KICC which is situated right at the centre of the Nairobi Central Business District. However, their stay was short-lived after the Nairobi County Government decided to prune all the acacia trees around.
Residents also complained about the invasion of the Marabou storks, lamenting that the birds left droppings on cars parked in the city.
