The planned revamping and securing of City Park has gained momentum after the M-Pesa Foundation committed to put in some resources.
On Wednesday, Forestry Principal Secretary Gitonga Mugambi held a strategic meeting with representatives from the M-pesa Foundation Group led by Karen Basiye at the ministry's headquarters.
“We have just started negotiations with the M-Pesa Foundation, and we appreciate their commitment to work with the government to secure City Park and make it a habitable green space for Nairobi residents," Forestry Development Secretary George Tarus, who was also in the meeting, said on Thursday.
The discussions focused on the 4.3km fencing of City Park to address issues of insecurity and illegal activities within the park.
Tarus said details on the amount the foundation will put in is still being negotiated.
He said the government will work with the foundation to transform the place.
Some of the features that will be included in the park under the new plan are internal walkways, water features and the restoration of key structures.
Tarus said once the process starts, issues of illegal encroachment will be addressed.
He said the initial phase of the process will involve various partners, adding that robust public participation will be done before the project starts.
Tarus said environmental audits will be done and all boxes ticked to comply with regulations and laws that are in place.
The ongoing efforts are meant to have the 63-hectare (155 acres) park regain its lost glory.
City Park, on average, receives 2,000 visitors on Saturdays and Sundays.
During holidays, it receives 5,000 people.
City Park Community Forest Association chairman Thuo Fiu said the planned activities are meant to secure the park from being grabbed and guarantee the security of those visiting.
“We have partnered with Earth Keepers Foundation for the rehabilitation of Kibagare River by planting bamboo,” Fiu said.
The official said they are also engaging the UK high commission, as they have various graves for those who fought in world wars.
He said they will help rehabilitate some of the graves.
Fiu said they are also reaching out to the Aga Khan Development Network, adding that Sh100 million is needed for the rehabilitation of the city park.
The chairman said a five-year strategic plan that was jointly developed by the Kenya Forest Service and CFA will guide the activities.
Fiu said the Kenyatta regime helped revoke all the illegally acquired titles, and fencing will bolster security of the park.
Nestled within Parklands and four kilometres from the Central Business District, City Park boasts about 998 tree and plant species.
The park is home to monkeys, the secret slavery, ticked honeybees, butterflies and more than 100 species of birds.
This is according to an assessment that had been done by the National Museums of Kenya.
The park also stores Kenya’s history, including the Mtego wa Panya Maze, Kibagare River, botanical gardens, the Jewish Goan Cemetery and World War 1 and two veterans' graves.
Joseph Zuzarte Murumbi’s grave and that of his wife Sheila is hosted at the park.
Murumbi served as Kenya’s second vice president under President Jomo Kenyatta, his close friend.
Murumbi in his will had asked to be buried next to his best friend, Pio Gama Pinto.
However, the City Park cemetery where Pinto, a Goan, had been buried was full on June 22, 1990, when Murumbi died.
Jomo Kenyatta had asked that an acre of the park be set aside near Pinto’s grave for Murumbi’s burial.
This is what is currently the Murumbi Memorial Garden, which until recently had been neglected, creating a haven for crime.
Following the neglect, thickets of overgrown thorny bougainvillaea plants had taken over.
The graves of Murumbi and his wife Sheila had sunk into the ground, and some of the sculptures erected in memory of the art-loving family had been vandalised.
Reports of muggings, killings, violence and drug abuse became synonymous with parts of the park.
As illegal activities rose, the park lost its glory, and residents and tourists shunned it.
Land grabbers also stole chunks of the land.
It is this neglect that prompted the national government to take over the park from the county.
In May 2020, through a directive by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, City Park Forest was formally placed under the Kenya Forest Service to improve its management and conservation.
City Park was transferred from the management of Nairobi County to the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) in June 2020.
The Kenya Forestry Research Institute was tasked with being in charge of research and development and, together with the National Museums of Kenya, established a module on the national botanical garden.
The National Museums of Kenya became responsible for the protection of national heritage and historical sites within the park.
KFS has since deployed rangers to City Park to strengthen security.
The National Environment Management Authority has also been roped in to help resolve the threat of pollution.
The Community Forest Association has played a key role in the protection, conservation and rehabilitation of forests in the country.
Through CFAs, forest-adjacent communities and other stakeholders are engaged in the co-management of forests in a way that communities benefit.
Forest laws also allow CFAs with various forest user rights, such as firewood and controlled grazing.
The CFAs are also involved in re-afforestation and rehabilitation programmes, which entail as the establishment of tree nurseries, planting and other silvicultural operations through contractual engagements.
