STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE EMERGING SCHEME TO CARVE UP IMENTI FOREST FOR AN AIRSTRIP, GOLF COURSE AND STATE LODGE
4th June 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Green Belt Movement is deeply alarmed and outraged by reports that senior government officials are actively pursuing plans that could result in the destruction of parts of Imenti Forest, one of Kenya’s most important water towers and ecological treasures, to pave the way for the construction of an airstrip, a golf course and a State Lodge. On 18th September 2025, The Green Belt Movement publicly opposed proposals to establish a State Lodge and golf course within Meru’s Imenti Forest.
Today, our fears appear to be materializing. We have learnt that on 6th May 2026, the Principal Secretary for Forestry, Mr. Gitonga Mugambi, issued concurrence to the Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. Alexander Lemarkoko, following a request contained in letter Ref. No. LIC/1/KFS/VOL.XXXV/13 dated 6th May 2026. The request sought the issuance of a Special User Licence to facilitate the construction of 17.5 kilometres of the Meru Bypass under the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project, financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association.
The project proposes the excision and use of 2.75 hectares of Imenti Forest. While this was presented as a road infrastructure project, recent developments have exposed a far more troubling agenda. The Green Belt Movement has noted reports and public accounts showing the Principal Secretary for Forestry, the Governor of Meru County, Mr. Mutuma M’Ethingia, and officials from the Kenya Forest Service touring Kambakia Forest, a section of Imenti Forest, allegedly to identify sites for a proposed Airstrip, Golf Course and State Lodge. The justification being advanced is familiar. We are told these projects will unlock investment, boost tourism and accelerate economic growth.
Kenyans have heard these promises before. We heard them when forests were allocated to politically connected individuals. We heard them when public land was grabbed. We heard them whenever short term commercial interests were placed above environmental protection and public interest. Forests are not vacant land waiting for powerful people to dream up luxury projects. Forests are living ecosystems. They are water catchments. They are biodiversity reservoirs. They are climate shields. They belong to present and future generations of Kenyans. The Green Belt Movement sees a disturbing and deliberate pattern emerging.
The recent amendment to Section 56(2) of the Forest Conservation and Management Act was fiercely opposed by environmental defenders because it granted the Kenya Forest Service expanded authority to issue easements and wayleaves in public forests under the guise of public utilities. We warned that such powers could easily become a backdoor through which protected forests would be opened up to commercial and political interests. Contrary to Article 62 of the Constitution, which classifies public forests as public land and vests responsibility for their protection and oversight in the National Land Commission (NLC), the proposed actions undermine the constitutional safeguards intended to preserve these critical public resources. What is now unfolding in Imenti Forest appears to validate those concerns.
Kenyans must ask themselves a simple question. How does an airstrip qualify as forest conservation? How does a golf course protect water catchments? How does a State Lodge restore degraded ecosystems? These projects are not necessities. They are luxuries. They are symbols of privilege. They have no place in a protected public forest. This is not development. It is environmental thuggery dressed up as economic progress. The Green Belt Movement reminds public officials that forests are held in trust for the people of Kenya. They are not personal assets to be allocated according to political convenience.
Any attempt to alienate, excise, privatize or change the use of forest land must be subjected to the strictest constitutional and legal scrutiny, including full public participation, environmental impact assessment and compliance with all applicable laws. We also call upon the World Bank and all development partners associated with the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project to exercise the highest level of due diligence and ensure that their financing is not used directly or indirectly to facilitate the destruction, fragmentation or degradation of protected forest ecosystems.
Professor Wangari Maathai dedicated her life to defending Kenya’s forests against precisely this kind of thinking. She understood that every generation faces a choice between protecting the common good and surrendering it to powerful interests. She taught us that forests are not obstacles to development. They are the foundation upon which sustainable development rests. The Green Belt Movement demands full disclosure of all plans relating to Imenti Forest, Kambakia Forest and the proposed developments.
We demand an immediate halt to any processes aimed at allocating, licensing or converting forest land for these purposes. We further call upon Parliament, the National Land Commission, environmental regulators, civil society organizations and all Kenyans of goodwill to remain vigilant and resist any attempt to undermine the integrity of our public forests. The Green Belt Movement will stand with communities, environmental defenders and all concerned citizens in opposing any attempt to destroy, fragment or privatize this critical forest ecosystem.
Issued by: The Green Belt Movement Nairobi, Kenya
communication@greenbeltmovement.org | www.greenbeltmovement.org
