State moves to implement court ruling on Mau Forest boundaries

Njoro Deputy County Commissioner Mokin Ptanguny supervises the erection of a beacon at Sururu, on April 28, 2025. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The Kenyan government is now grappling with the consequences of past decisions that allowed families to settle in the Eastern Mau Forest in the 1990s, a move that has led to decades-long legal and environmental turmoil.

The fallout stems from a 2001 government decision to excise 35,301 hectares from the Mau Forest for settlement. Although intended to legitimise earlier occupations, the move has sparked enduring legal battles, mass evictions, and growing conservation concerns.