Karura forest under growing threat as 'developers' eye city's green belt

Reports indicate that some greedy individuals, operating under a company registered abroad, are trying to claim some ten acres of Karura forest as their personal property. They have actually taken the authorities preserving Karura (on behalf of Kenyans) to court accusing them of blocking “access to their property” by fencing Karura. They want the fence removed so that they can build high rise apartments in the forest for sale and make profit.

This might come across as stranger than fiction, but it is true. Let me tell you why. The last Master Plan for the development of Nairobi was done in 1974, four years before Jomo Kenyatta died. The next administration generally ignored the plan. The plan had envisaged a Nairobi with an attractive “environmental face”.