A legal action has been initiated by a lobby group, aiming to void a property title granted to a developer who has fenced off a portion of woodland on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Over 100 members of the Kibiko Community Forest Association have filed a lawsuit against Geoffrey Tenai, as well as high-ranking government officials including Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome and her counterpart in Environment and Forestry, Soipan Tuya. They seek to halt construction on a three-hectare segment of the forest.

The petitioners, represented by Murithi Kimathi and Karera Advocates, assert that the respondents’ actions, such as tree removal, forest clearance, and the erection of a perimeter wall, threaten the genetic resources and biodiversity of Kibiko Forest and its surroundings.

The residents are urging the court to mandate the government to dismantle the concrete perimeter wall surrounding the encroached area, restore the felled trees, and invalidate the title deed issued to Mr. Tenai.

Kibiko Forest, located in the Ngong/Bulbul area and adjacent to Embakasi Forest, is a public forest cherished for its valuable plants and animals, which bring significant benefits to the local communities. According to the residents, the forest remained untouched until August 2023 when Mr. Tenai allegedly encroached upon it and felled trees.

The petition points out that the purported lease was granted on June 1, 2005, but it underscores that the land had remained undisturbed as a forest until August 2023 when the first respondent encroached on the forest.

The residents argue that Section 34 of the Forest Conservation and Management Act stipulates that alterations to forest boundaries or the revocation of public forests can only occur through a petition to Parliament. They accuse government agencies of either supporting or enabling the encroachment on a public forest.

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