• The four-lane carriageway once completed will run over 27km, linking Mlolongo and JKIA to the Nairobi-Nakuru highway in Westlands.
• Kamau said the move to have the project touch the park is selfish.
Image: FILE
The Green Belt Movement wants the government to produce structural designs of the JKIA-Westlands expressway in Nairobi.
It says the yet-to-be-launched project threatens the iconic Uhuru Park. The demand comes as conservationists converge in the park on Saturday to champion its protection.
On Thursday, movement chairperson Marion Kamau said nature lovers would attend the rally. They demanded official documents to prove that the project will not interfere with the park. “We will educate people on the need to protect Uhuru Park,” she said.
The park was gazetted in 1969. Kamau said the move to have the project touch the park is selfish. The structural designs of the project have not been released.
“Their days are numbered,” she said, adding the Constitution protects all Kenyans.
Kamau said Environment CS Keriako Tobiko visited Green Belt Movement offices recently and sought to assure them that the plan had been dropped. “It was, however, verbal assurance,” she said.
The original designs of the Sh62 billion road project showed that the expressway would cut through the famous recreational park, sparking public outrage. This means Sh4.1 billion would have been used for compensation.
Following objections by conservationists, the government announced that it had suspended the plan, albeit verbally. The four-lane carriageway once completed will run over 27km, linking Mlolongo and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Nairobi-Nakuru highway in Westlands.
The project is meant to ease the flow of traffic. It will be funded by Chinese firm China Roads and Bridge Company (CRBC). CRBC will recoup its investment from tolls.
Kamau said green spaces remain the most cherished and accessible recreational facilities for citizens to rejuvenate.
“Ecologically, they serve as the lungs for over 4.5 million Kenyans, shielding them from the silent killer of the day-air pollution,” she said.
Kamau addressed the media at Green Belt Movement offices in Kilimani. She said Uhuru Park is home to national monuments such as the Nyayo statue, the Mau Mau freedom fighters monument and the freedom corner. She expressed concern that Karura forest, Ololua forest and the Nairobi city park are also threatened by development.
“If this goes unchallenged, they will compromise and disenfranchise the public of all the vital benefits they have been enjoying for years,” she said.
Kamau said the authorities have also failed to provide environmental impact assessment report by National Environment Management Authority. She questioned why the government is pushing a project that did not undergo through public participation — a constitutional requirement.
“Many projects have taken place without public participation. If the government does not observe the Constitution, who will?” she asked.
She termed it ironical for the government to roll out programmes for the people without involving them. Kamau said Nairobi residents want good public transport and not mega road projects that ruin the few available green spaces. The movement will form a team dubbed ‘Friends of Uhuru Park’ to advocate its conservation and protection.
(Edited by F'Orieny)