License suspended for eco-lodge in Ngong forest

The Kenya Forest Service has suspended a Special Use License it had given to a private investor to put up a Sh80 million eco-lodge inside Ngong Forest.

Secure Homes had been given the license on July 19, 2017, to put up the lodge, causing an uproar among conservationists and the general public.

 On July 10,  KFS chief conservator for forests Julius Kamau said the real estate firm had not furnished the service with crucial documents.

Secure homes was supposed to furnish KFS with Environmental Impact Assessment reports, operation plans and the architectural design of the facility.

The 20-acre mini-resort Secure Homes wants to put up 25 rooms, conference facilities for 100 guests, parking for 300 vehicles and a swimming pool.

will include a gym, restaurant and bar, bandas on a field, an amphitheatre for outdoor functions and nature walks.

"The facility which is operated by Secure Homes Limited has been suspended following preliminary investigations that have led the Service to believe the licensee has breached the terms of the license," KFS said in a statement.

The service said provisions of the Special Use License required submission of operational plans to KFS within six months of licensing for approval before developing the facility.

"These plans are: architectural plans and structural drawings; site-specific forest management plan; community participation plan, and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report and the EIA license from Nema. These have not been submitted to date," Kamau said.

"A Special Use License is conditional and one of the requirements they were supposed to do in six months period was to provide prerequisite legal documents," Kamau said.

Kamau spoke on Wednesday last week at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute during the inauguration of 10 board members by Environment CS Keriako Tobiko.

"It is part of the audit that we are doing as KFS to ensure there is strict compliance not only on that ecolodge but all the other 46 that we have," he said.

Kamau said the service is inspecting ecolodges to ascertain if they meet all standards.

Concerning Ngong Hills, KFS said it intends to inspect the area to determine the level of compliance, which will inform the way forward with regard to the Special Use License.

"The Licensee will be informed of the findings for their response," he said.

Conservationists warning that the project and the tourists it will attract could be disastrous for the fast-diminishing 3,000-acre forest.

Already the forest is being dismantled by developers and the government has been allocated pieces.

"We are all worried about further destruction of the already decreasing forests," one environmentalist said.

“The license agreement is for 25 years from the date of execution and may be renewed for such further terms upon mutual agreement of both parties,” the  EIA report says.

Kefa Wamicwe was the lead expert who drafted the EIA report.

Construction will take a year and the facility will open immediately.

The forest is only six kilometres from Nairobi's CBD and is a vital water tower and wildlife sanctuary.

The water tower plays an important role in  Kenya’s well-being. It could soon disappear if the Environment ministry does not intensify the war on land grabbing.

The forest is managed by the KFS and the Ngong Road Forest Association, a community forest association formed under the Forest Act of 2005.

The forest is divided by the Ngong Road into the Miotoni Section to the Northwest and the Racecourse and Kibera section to the Southeast.

The forest is known for a variety of wildlife such as buffaloes, wild pigs, porcupines, baboons, colobus monkeys, hyenas, dik-diks, giraffes, zebras, leopards and cheetahs.

It contains many amphibians, reptiles and birds and is a paradise for bird watchers.

Over the years, the forest has been encroached upon and more than half of its gazetted parcels eaten into.

The government has lost about 1,951 acres, leaving only 1,330. KFS has been working with the National Land Commission to have the titles revoked and the parcels reverted.

“We’re at an advanced stage following up on revocation of the titles in Marmanet and Rumuruti, and all over the country where forests have been illegally grabbed,” former chief conservator Monica Kalenda said.

Ngong was gazetted as a reserve through a proclamation in 1932. It was under 7,232 acres. In 1964, it was declared a central forest under a legal notice.

Over the years, some parts were allotted. By 1978, the forest had only 3,282 acres.

The beneficiaries include Lenana School, Extelcoms, St Francis Anglican Church, PCEA Mugumoini Church and Langata Cemetery.

Others are The War Cemetery, Kenya Science Teachers College, Meteorological Department and the ASK Showground.

In 1996, a title deed for the remaining parcel was issued to the Treasury PS. He was to hold it on behalf of the Environment PS.

This title excluded 840 acres. In 1999, the title was surrendered to the commissioner of lands and a leasehold title deed for 1,330 acres issued to Treasury PS to keep for the Ngong Road Sanctuary.

This left out 1,111.95 acres from the title issued in 1996. In total, 1,951 acres are no longer within the boundaries of the gazetted Ngong Road Forest.

The land excluded was illegally allocated to private developers. Some have been transferred to private companies.

The commissioner of lands allocated some 15 acres to a private developer, but the National Social Security Fund currently claims ownership.

Another 18 acres were allocated for extension of ASK showground (Jamhuri Park). Objections were raised.

Another 44 acres allocated to the ASK by the commissioner of lands were not authorised by the Forest department.

(Edited by V. Graham)