PREMIUM We can't halt development because of conservation: Forestry PS Mugambi Petitioners challenging development in Nairobi National Park allege they were threatened. Climate Just now Listen

Mugambi's remarks came as the dispute over proposed developments inside Nairobi National Park moved to the Environment and Land Court, which on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, conducted a site at the park amid a standoff between conservation campaigners and the Kenya Wildlife Service.

The proposed facility, according to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), will be around the Galleria site and would take up close to 84 acres of Nairobi National Park.

In Imenti Forest, Meru County, activists and residents have opposed plans to excise land for state projects despite a court order suspending the works, Kenya Forest Service rangers guarded bulldozers as they cleared sections of the forest, In Nairobi, conservation groups have flagged the shrinking of green spaces around the city, warning that projects such as the 60,000-seater Talanta Stadium add to a pattern of encroachment on public land, while construction has reportedly continued in Ngong Road Forest and Upper Imenti Forest despite High Court orders suspending the activities.