Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has ordered The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to quash the license of a private developer setting up a golf range and restaurant within the Ngong Road Forest.
- CS Duale directed the environmental authority and the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) to prepare a brief on the matter within the next three days.
- The developer received two licenses; the Special Use License issued by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) on 14th June 2023 and the Environmental Impact Assessment (IEA) from NEMA.
- The two licenses triggered massive uproar by Kenyans on social media, who suspect that the developer, Karura Golf Range Ltd, had encroached on forested land.
“My office will provide a way forward on the matter that has attracted great public interest after the briefing by the CCF and the Director General of NEMA. KFS has been directed to refrain from issuing any additional special licenses,” Duale said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“My office will provide a way forward on the matter that has attracted great public interest after the briefing by the CCF and the Director General of NEMA,” Duale added.
NEMA defended the environmental impact assessment exercise it carried out, claiming it gave out a conditional license based on the approval the developer received from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS). The Director General of NEMA on Tuesday evening stated that environmental inspectors and officers had been tasked to carry out urgent inspections of the proposed development site and take appropriate corrective measures.
The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) is yet to clarify what prompted the award of the special license to a private developer. This comes days after it was discovered that KFS awarded 51 acres of Karura forest to the highways authority. KFS’ approval, made after a board decision in March this year, would permit the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to expand Kiambu Road but this would destroy parts of the forest.
The Karura Golf Range Ltd was registered in June 2020 and has two directors; Kapildev Bhatt and Harpal Choda. With the rising appetite of prime land in Nairobi, developers are likely to encroach forest land by colluding with state agencies mandated to protect these resources.
