NAIROBI, Kenya — Former Chief Justice David Maraga has accused police of using excessive force against peaceful protesters during demonstrations opposing the planned excision of land from Nairobi National Park for development projects.
In a statement issued from Lang’ata Police Station on Monday, Maraga said he joined environmental activists under the United Green Movement to protest what he described as the alienation of part of the national park for controversial development.
According to the former Chief Justice, the protesters were seeking to present a petition to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) challenging the planned excision of 89 acres of land, which he said would facilitate the construction of a 1,300-capacity parking facility and the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage.
Maraga maintained that the demonstration was lawful and protected under the Constitution.
“Our assembly and procession was entirely lawful and peaceful in exercise of our fundamental democratic rights enshrined in our Constitution,” he said.
Claims of violent arrests
Maraga alleged that police had initially approved the procession before later moving in to arrest demonstrators.
“The police okayed the procession, prior to its commencement in the morning. However, a short while later as we marched on, we were met with unprovoked, violent arrests,” he stated.
He further claimed that officers using a police lorry and a combination of plainclothes and armed personnel disrupted the procession and detained protesters.
The former Chief Justice described the arrests as a violation of constitutional rights and condemned what he termed the use of force against citizens engaged in peaceful civic action.
Nine protesters remain in custody
According to Maraga, he was released shortly after his arrest, but nine other protesters who were detained alongside him remained at Lang’ata Police Station.
He claimed that those detained had not been informed of any specific charges.
“Although I was immediately released thereafter, nine fellow citizens I was arrested with were booked into Lang’ata Police Station with no specific charges being preferred against them,” he said.
The remarks mirror concerns raised earlier by the Law Society of Kenya, which condemned the arrests and dispatched a legal team to secure the release of those detained.
Criticism of government actions
Maraga used the statement to criticize what he described as a broader pattern of disregard for the rule of law and constitutional freedoms.
He accused authorities of suppressing dissent and warned against actions that undermine citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and expression.
“The police cannot operate outside the law they are sworn to uphold. The government must stop this subversion of the law and assaults on constitutional rights,” he said.
The former Chief Justice also framed the dispute as a defining moment for Kenya’s democracy, calling on citizens to defend constitutional governance, equality, and justice.
Ongoing controversy over park development
The protest is part of a growing dispute surrounding plans to clear sections of Nairobi National Park for infrastructure linked to the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage and the proposed Bomas International Convention Centre project.
Government agencies have defended the project as part of broader efforts to modernize wildlife facilities and improve tourism infrastructure.