Friends of Karura Forest Association (FKF) has announced plans to challenge in court the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) decision to move Karura Forest entrance fee payments to the government’s eCitizen platform.
Speaking on Monday, September 1, FKF board member Karanja Njoroge said KFS failed to consult the association before rolling out the new payment system.
Njoroge further argued that KFS’s takeover of the forest threatens the jobs of FKF staff who have long served the forest. “We have signed agreements, and we will go to court. The only place you can run when you are under attack is the judicial system, which considers the situation, the investments we have made, our blood, work, sweat, and money.
“People greedy enough come and not just take what we have arranged for the community to pay, but also increase; it’s painful. Any fair person can see the pain in this attitude of a government office,” Njoroge said.
The FKF board member stressed that KFS violated the Karura Forest Management Plan 2021–2041 by unilaterally shifting fee payments to eCitizen. Njoroge argued that KFS should have held negotiations with FKF before making such a major change.
“We invested Ksh37 million, even more, in Karura Forest. That could have been negotiated around a table – you don’t look down on us like we don’t matter,” he added.
On Thursday, August 29, KFS announced that all visitor payments for Karura Forest services would now be processed through the government’s eCitizen digital platform. In its statement, the service defended the move, saying it was complying with a government directive requiring all public services to migrate to the centralized eCitizen system.
Despite this justification, both FKF and the Green Belt Movement protested KFS’s decision, warning that the shift undermines existing agreements and the role of community stakeholders in protecting Karura Forest.
KFS Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko assured the public on Saturday that the new eCitizen payment system would not disrupt the experience of Karura Forest visitors.
He emphasized that all other aspects of forest management would remain unchanged, including the roles of staff, scouts, clerks, cleaners, and contract employees.
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