- President Uhuru Kenyatta opened the park August 14 after it was given a facelift.
- It was renamed Michuki Memorial Park by the Ministry of Environment in 2012 in honour of the late minister John Michuki.
A cold war between the Ministry of Environment and Kenya Forest Service has rocked the management of Michuki Memorial Park, which was opened to the public last month.
President Uhuru Kenyatta opened the rehabilitated Park on August 14.
The park, situated between Globe Cinema roundabout the far end of Uhuru Highway, had been the home of drug users and street children.
It was renamed Michuki Memorial Park by the Ministry of Environment in 2012 in honour of the late minister John Michuki.
The park has already been placed under the management of KFS.
However, a KFS board member familiar with the happenings said the decision was made orally.
“We do not have any written documents to show that the park was placed under KFS,” the board member told the Star.
“I have not seen any paper work on the transfer of the management of the park to KFS. This is not legally binding.”
The member who requested anonymity questioned the rationale behind the oral communication that the park had been placed under KFS.
He said without paper work, there was no evidence that the park was under KFS, adding that the move was bound to bring legal challenges.
When reached for a comment, Environment PS Chis Kiptoo referred us to CS Keriako Tobiko. Tobiko neither picked our calls nor responded to text messages.
The standoff between the ministry and KFS risks stalling the rehabilitation of other green spaces that the President had alluded to.
Michuki, now deceased, was the Environment minister during President Mwai Kibaki's administration.
He won admiration for his enthusiasm and determination to clean and preserve the environment.
In 2009, Michuki was internationally recognised for redeeming Nairobi River.
The United Nations Environment Programme presented him with a certificate recognising his efforts to clean the river, which had been choking on human and industrial waste.
The park was neglected soon after he was moved from the Environment docket.
Uhuru said that the park had been restored to its initial look, ending criminal activities that had been going on in there.
“We have moved it from a safe haven for criminals to a place of serene beauty and peace; from blacken waters of Nairobi River to a swimming destination for ducks and mudfish; and from a lifeless habitat to a life-supporting ecosystem, leading to the reemergence of birds.”
The President said the former glory of Nairobi can be restored to what was referred to as the “green city in the sun”.
Apart from rehabilitating Michuki Park, the President said that the government had targeted other green spaces for revival including the Nairobi Arboretum, Karura Forest, City Park and Ngong Road Forest.
Already, the rehabilitation of City Park which has since been placed under KFS after being wrestled from Nairobi County is ongoing.
The facelift of City Park is set to take nine months.
Uhuru added that green spaces improve the quality of air in the city by expunging toxins emitted to the environment.
“And this is why we are targeting a 10 per cent forest cover across the entire country by the year 2022. Within Nairobi, Michuki Park is the first attempt at pushing this green renaissance,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori