NAIROBI, Kenya – The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has dismissed claims that any part of Karura Forest has been lost to land grabbers, assuring the public that the iconic urban forest remains intact and legally protected.
Speaking during a patrol and familiarization tour of the forest on Thursday, Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko said the allegations, reportedly made by a private developer, were unfounded.
“Karura Forest is intact. No one has grabbed it, and no one will, because we have strong instruments governing the management and protection of its boundaries,” Lemarkoko said.
He was accompanied by senior KFS officials, including Commandant Mohammed Mohammed, head of survey Evans Kegode, head of legal (Survey) Laura Yego, Nairobi County forest conservator Margaret Wanjiru, and members of the Friends of Karura Community Forest Association.
The officials inspected several parts of the forest, including a river marking the natural southern boundary.
Lemarkoko stressed that Karura has been gazetted and legally protected for nearly a century — first declared a forest reserve under Proclamation No. 44 of 1932, and later designated a central forest through Legal Notice No. 174 on May 20, 1964.
The forest, which initially covered 2,580 acres, now spans about 1,041 hectares.
Lemarkoko said the Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016 provides stringent legal safeguards, making it “practically impossible” to alter boundaries of protected forests.
“We have fenced the entire Karura Forest except for the section bordering the river, which acts as a natural boundary. There’s no threat in that area, and any concerns are already being addressed,” he added.
He credited community participation, particularly through Friends of Karura, as a key factor in safeguarding the forest — calling it a “social fence” against encroachment.
KFS records show the forest boundaries were first surveyed in 1923 and documented in survey plan RF 23/1.
Karura, located just outside Nairobi’s central business district, is one of the world’s largest gazetted urban forests and home to nearly all of Nairobi’s 605 wildlife species, including three species of antelope.
It remains a popular ecological, recreational, and cultural site, jointly managed by KFS and Friends of Karura, with entry points on Kiambu Road and Limuru Road.
