This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
KWS Denies Road Construction Plans in Nairobi National Park ¶
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has come out to dismiss reports of a new road being constructed through Nairobi National Park. The claims, which emerged on social media, sparked outrage among Kenyans who expressed concerns over the potential impact on the park's wildlife.
According to a statement by KWS Corporate Communications, the reports are 'not true and a total misrepresentation of the facts.' The statement clarified that a local contractor engaged by KWS is improving the road joining KWS Headquarters to Central Workshop inside the park.
The contractor is currently scooping murram from a quarry near the Standard Gauge Railway for use on the existing murram road. KWS stated that the contractor will rehabilitate the quarry pit after completing the works on the road in accordance with an already established Environmental Management Plan.
The controversy emerged after a photo of an excavator scooping out murram inside the park went viral on social media, with many Kenyans expressing their outrage and concern over the potential destruction of the park's habitat.
Some of the concerned citizens took to Twitter to express their views, with one user stating, 'Lions at NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK watching destruction of their habitat to pave way for an EXPRESS ROAD. Saddest picture on the internet today.'
Another user, Climate Change Kenya, tweeted, 'A road construction underway through NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK…the impact of human and wildlife interaction surely will lead to death of the wildlife. It seems Corruption has no boundaries.'
Despite the concerns, KWS has maintained that the road improvement project is necessary and will not harm the park's wildlife.
