Residents of Kabete on Monday, January 30, called on Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to divert a railway line from their village.
In a bid to save a Mugumo tree, the resident asked the Kenya Kwanza government to honour the local culture by preserving the sacred tree.
The residents narrated the significance of the Mugumo tree and warned of unspecified consequences should the tree be cut down during construction.
Local elders performed traditional prayers and offering on the tree to secure it from destruction by Kenya Railways Corporation.
"We have offered a goat to the tree, and we expect Mugumo tree to eat up the animal by itself in without any assistance," an elder explained after conducting prayers.
The giant Mugumo trees were traditionally used as shrines or places of worship by traditional religious leaders in some parts of Kenya.
According to the elders, cutting down mugumo trees is taboo in the local culture since it amounts to the destruction of a place of worship.
"During droughts, prayers are often made at the base of the tree to encourage rain to fall on the land," elders explained.
This is not the first time the government is at loggerheads with locals over the cutting down of trees with cultural significance.
For instance, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) in October 2020, announced intentions to transplant a Mugumo tree from Waiyaki Way in order to give way to the construction of the Nairobi Expressway.
The decision by KeNHA failed after both environmentalists and local elders rallied a campaign to keep the tree in its current location unscathed.
In response, former President Uhuru Kenyatta was forced to heed the calls and issued a decree guaranteeing the protection of the tree.
"The tree will be adopted by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services and the highway project will be rerouted," Uhuru announced.
The Waiyaki Way Mugumo (fig tree) is currently being used by local traders to hold meetings and public events.
