It is exhausting to wake up, week after week, to yet another story of forest land being carved away in the name of “development.” Today it is Imenti Forest in Meru County, a gazetted public forest that sustains biodiversity, provides water, and supports livelihoods. Reports now suggest that 50 acres are being considered for a State Lodge, golf course, and airstrip. What makes this particularly troubling is that the directive is said to have come from the very top: President William Ruto himself, during a meeting with Meru leaders.
This is not the first time Kenyans have been here. From Karura to Mau, Aberdare to Ngong Road and Suam, citizens have fought to protect forests from encroachment disguised as progress. Each time, we are promised tree planting campaigns, pledges of billions of seedlings, and speeches about climate action. Yet the reality remains the same: while new trees are promised, existing forests are quietly chipped away. It is a double-speak that has become all too familiar, and Kenyans are tired of it.
Imenti Forest – a critical water catchment, a home for elephants and countless species, and a source of income for local communities through eco-tourism, honey harvesting, and agriculture. To hive off parts of it for luxury projects is not only a violation of the Forest Conservation and Management Act and the Constitution, but also a betrayal of public trust. Forests are not empty land waiting for development; they are living systems that protect us all from drought, floods, and the escalating climate crisis.
What Kenyans demand now is simple. First, an immediate halt to any plans to excise Imenti Forest. Second, full transparency: every directive, contract, and environmental impact assessment must be made public. Third, independent investigations into how gazetted forests keep ending up on the chopping block for private or prestige projects. Finally, a renewed commitment to protect what already exists.
Planting 15 billion trees means little if, at the same time, the government is cutting down the forests that anchor our survival.
The fight for Imenti is not isolated. It is part of a disturbing pattern where forests promised to the people are surrendered to greed. Each time, it is communities, civil society, and citizens who are forced to defend them. Kenyans are weary of this endless cycle. Protecting forests should not be a battle waged over and over; it should be the government’s first duty.Imenti must remain intact. Our forests are not bargaining chips, not playgrounds for the powerful, and not land for sale. They are our inheritance, our protection, and our future. And they must be defended, not just in words, but in action.
Iconic Kenyan forests making up almost 10 times the size of Nairobi are under threat.
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