By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, July 22, 2026 - A legal battle over the future of Nairobi National Park has taken a dramatic turn after environmental activists accused the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) of blocking them from participating in a court-ordered site inspection linked to a controversial development project inside Kenya's oldest national park.
The dispute centres on a petition filed by 4,642 Kenyans challenging ongoing developments within the protected ecosystem, with conservationists alleging that KWS frustrated public participation during an inspection ordered by the Environment and Land Court.
According to Friends of Nairobi National Park (FoNNaP), the Environment and Land Court had directed Deputy Registrar Vincent Kiplagat to conduct a site visit on July 21 in the presence of all parties before the matter proceeds for hearing.
However, the petitioners claim they were met by masked and armed KWS officers upon arriving at the park and were prevented from participating in the inspection.
"The co-petitioners arrived at the park at the designated time, only to be subjected to intimidation and threats by masked, armed service personnel of KWS. Matters escalated when these same personnel then tried to eject the co-petitioners from the KWS headquarters premises," the petitioners said in a statement.
Videos circulated online reportedly showed KWS officers questioning activists and directing some of them back to their vehicles before the inspection proceeded.
According to the petitioners, they were only allowed into the park after court officials, KWS representatives, journalists and the sole lawyer representing the petitioners had already completed the inspection.
At the heart of the dispute is a proposed relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage to an 89-hectare site opposite Bomas of Kenya, a project that KWS says will provide expanded facilities, including a wildlife hospital, improved visitor amenities and additional space to accommodate growing rescue cases.
Environmental groups, however, argue that the project extends beyond relocating the orphanage.
They claim the government has hived off approximately 76 acres of protected land to facilitate the proposed Bomas International Conference Complex (BICC), warning that the development threatens indigenous forest habitat critical to wildlife, including the endangered black rhinoceros.
The petitioners also argue that the project was approved without adequate public participation and without fully complying with environmental assessment requirements.
Following the inspection, the conservation groups accused KWS of attempting to control public information surrounding the project.
"There can only be one conclusion, KWS wanted to control the narrative and ensure the voice of Kenyans was not heard by the courts or the media while on site," the petitioners alleged.
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The activists further accused the wildlife agency of disregarding both the spirit of the court order and constitutional principles on public participation.
"Yesterday's incident is indicative of KWS's continued lack of transparency, contempt for public participation and a disposition to use force when it does not get its way," they said.
KWS has maintained that relocating the Nairobi Animal Orphanage is necessary to improve wildlife rescue services and visitor experience.
According to the agency, the existing orphanage has become too small to handle increasing numbers of rescued animals and visitors.
The Service says the new facility will incorporate modern infrastructure, a wildlife hospital and enhanced conservation amenities, while the current site will eventually be rehabilitated and restored.
The dispute reflects the increasing tension between infrastructure expansion and wildlife conservation within Nairobi National Park, one of the world's only national parks located adjacent to a capital city.
Over the years, the park has faced mounting pressure from roads, the Standard Gauge Railway, electricity transmission lines and urban expansion, raising concerns among conservationists about habitat fragmentation and disruption of wildlife migration corridors.
The current case has become another test of how Kenya balances national development ambitions with the constitutional obligation to protect ecologically sensitive areas.
The Environment and Land Court is expected to continue hearing the petition, with its decision likely to shape the future of one of Kenya's most iconic conservation landscapes.