NAIROBI, Kenya — President William Ruto’s decision to lift Kenya’s logging ban has sparked a fierce backlash from the opposition, with People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua accusing the government of “betraying logic, science, and public trust.”
In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, November 4, Karua said the move undermines Kenya’s environmental commitments and reverses progress made through the national tree-planting initiative.
“The decision by William Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza administration to lift the logging ban on Kenya’s forests is a betrayal of logic, science, and the nation’s own environmental commitments,” Karua said.
“For a country that has pledged to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, allowing loggers back into our forests reeks of recklessness and short-sightedness.”
The government lifted the six-year ban during Ruto’s visit to Elburgon, Nakuru County, arguing that it would revive the timber and furniture industries and prevent wastage of overstocked mature trees.
“The lifting of the logging ban does not mean that we destroy our forests,” Ruto said. “It means we will harvest trees responsibly, replant them, and ensure our forests remain sustainable.”
He directed the Ministry of Trade to stop furniture imports, particularly from China, and encouraged sawmillers to source timber locally under “strict supervision.” He also said those issued with felling licences must replant trees to maintain forest cover.
However, Karua dismissed the president’s assurances, warning that the decision risks reopening avenues for corruption and illegal logging. “Once the floodgates open, illegal loggers, corrupt officers, and politically connected cartels will exploit the chaos,” she warned. “We have seen this movie before, and it never ends well.”
She accused Ruto of contradicting his administration’s own climate pledges, citing Article 69 of the Constitution, which obligates the state to ensure sustainable exploitation of natural resources and maintain tree cover.
“Kenya’s tree-planting drive has been one of the most inspiring national efforts in recent memory,” Karua said. “By lifting the logging ban, Ruto has undercut the very foundation of that vision. He cannot plant seedlings with one hand and wield an axe with the other.”
Karua also invoked the late Raila Odinga’s legacy, saying Ruto’s move dishonours his efforts to conserve the Mau Forest.
“As the country is still mourning the loss of Raila Odinga, we remind Ruto that Raila took the politically costly but principled stand to stop illegal logging and restore the Mau. Barely a month after his passing, Ruto is dismantling the environmental protections he fought for. This is a betrayal to his legacy,” she said.
Citing a 2023 Environment and Land Court ruling that blocked an earlier attempt to lift the ban due to inadequate public participation, Karua accused the president of “roadside policymaking” and violating constitutional safeguards.
“Articles 35 and 69 enshrine the people’s right to access information and to participate in decisions affecting the environment,” she noted. “By ignoring these safeguards, Mr Ruto not only violates the Constitution, he undermines governance itself.”
Environmental activists and forestry experts have echoed similar concerns, warning that the logging resumption could undermine Kenya’s reforestation goals and threaten water catchment areas.
Karua called on Kenyans to resist what she termed “a dangerous reversal of hard-won environmental gains.” She said: “A few sawmills may run again, but the cost will be borne by farmers facing erratic rains, pastoralists losing grazing land, and urban dwellers enduring water shortages. Our forests are not idle assets but living infrastructure vital to our survival.”
The logging ban, first imposed in 2018 under President Uhuru Kenyatta, aimed to protect Kenya’s forest cover and water towers after years of unchecked deforestation.
