The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has condemned the detention of former Chief Justice David Maraga and several environmental activists during a protest against a proposed government plan to excise part of Nairobi National Park for the expansion of Bomas of Kenya.
In a statement, LSK President Charles Kanjama termed the incident an attack on constitutional rights, saying the peaceful demonstrators were exercising freedoms protected under the Constitution.
“Bundling a retired head of our Judiciary into a police vehicle for peacefully opposing a Sh42 billion project, reportedly pushed through without public participation, is a direct assault on the civic space guaranteed under Article 37 of the Constitution,” Kanjama said.
He added that the society had dispatched a legal team to Lang’ata Police Station to secure the release of those detained and commended Maraga for remaining with the activists until all those taken into custody were freed.
“The LSK will not stand by while police force is weaponized against constitutional defenders. We demand an immediate end to the harassment of civic actors and a transparent public audit of the Bomas expansion plan,” he said.
Maraga was among a group of protesters opposing a proposal to allocate approximately 75 acres of Nairobi National Park land for the construction of a parking facility associated with the planned expansion of Bomas of Kenya.
However, police denied arresting the former Chief Justice and the activists, saying they only facilitated their movement to Lang’ata Police Station to present their petition.
“He was facilitated to the station to petition. Those who were with him joined him. No one was arrested,” a police officer at the scene said.
The protesters argued that the proposed allocation of land from the national park would undermine conservation efforts and set a dangerous precedent for future encroachment on protected areas.
Police later dispersed the demonstration as tensions rose, with several participants being escorted to a waiting police vehicle and taken to Lang’ata Police Station.
After presenting their petition, the group was released.
Environmental groups and civil society organisations have maintained that reducing the size of Nairobi National Park would threaten wildlife habitats and reverse years of conservation gains.
The proposed project has generated widespread debate, with conservationists urging the government to identify alternative locations for the planned parking facility instead of using land from the park.
The campaigners have vowed to continue opposing any move they believe could reduce the size of the protected area.
Traffic along sections of the road near the protest was disrupted for several hours as demonstrators voiced their opposition to the proposal.
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