Friends of Karura demand halt to tree cutting, answers on alleged NYS housing plan

In a press release dated Thursday, February 26, 2026, the community forest association said numerous indigenous trees had been cut down since the weekend in and around the Rangers Village inside the forest, with chainsaw operators reportedly felling trees and heavy machinery uprooting stumps.

The group said the individuals were allowed into the forest by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) station manager, while another team was said to have carried out a site assessment.

Friends of Karura said it co-manages the forest with KFS but was not notified of the tree clearance or any plans for the area, despite a recent Joint Management Committee meeting between the two organisations. It said a letter sent to KFS on Tuesday had not been responded to.

The association linked the latest developments to the “secret overnight tarmacking” of a road inside the forest leading to Rangers Village last year, saying the works were done without consultation and are the subject of a court case filed by Friends of Karura.

While KFS has claimed on social media that the area being cleared is within its headquarters, Friends of Karura said the site is about a kilometre from the headquarters and “right inside the forest”.

The association said the area appears set to host barracks-style accommodation for NYS teams overseeing an expanded tree nursery. It argued that the KFS headquarters area bordering Kiambu Road spans about 55 hectares and has enough space for such accommodation with existing roads and infrastructure.

Friends of Karura said the current Karura Forest Management Plan — and the previous two plans — provides for the relocation of the Rangers Village to the KFS headquarters, with the land returned to indigenous forest.

“As co-managers of Karura, we demand an immediate end to this work. Any proposals for development or building work inside the forest on this land must be brought out in the open for discussion,” FKF board member Prof Njoroge Karanja said.