A lobby group opposing construction inside Nairobi National Park has warned that court delays risk allowing the projects to be completed before judges rule on whether they should proceed.
The Save Nairobi National Park Campaign said construction and land clearing were continuing despite legal challenges seeking to halt the works, which it argues threaten the protected area.
In a statement, the campaign said the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) began constructing a large commercial parking facility and a new animal orphanage inside the park in March, despite what it described as flaws in public participation and gaps in the environmental impact assessment process.
Campaign members filed a petition at the Environment and Land Court in Nairobi in April 2026, seeking to challenge the works.
The lobby said the matter remained pending until mid-July, when the court issued a two-week interim stop order.
The respondents were expected to file their submissions within that period, with a ruling anticipated at the end of July.
However, the campaign said the court transferred the case to another court on the scheduled hearing date without explanation or directions and without extending the interim orders.
On June 28, another group of 4,642 Kenyans filed a petition at the Environment and Land Court in Kajiado. The campaign said the case was transferred to Nairobi, despite the court having jurisdiction to hear it.
The two cases came up for ruling in early September, but the judge said the decision was not ready and postponed the matter until 21 October.
The campaign said the court did not sit on Wednesday as expected because the judge was away on official business.
The deputy registrar reportedly informed the petitioners that a notice would be issued giving a new date for the ruling, but no date had been communicated by the time the statement was released.
The lobby said a large section of the park had been cleared for construction, with additional works beginning along the boundary next to Lang’ata Road.
It warned that continued delays could render the legal challenges ineffective if construction was completed before the court delivered its decision.
The campaign invoked the precautionary principle, saying environmental protection law requires preventive action where an activity poses a risk of serious or irreversible damage, even where there is no full scientific certainty.
It said the principle was enshrined in the constitution and the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, and argued that interim orders should have been issued to prevent further destruction while the cases were being heard.
“By going to court in the first place, the petitioners hoped the Court would rely on this legal principle to ensure interim stop orders were issued, preventing any destruction of the park until the case is heard and determined," the campaign said.
"However, to our disappointment, the courts have repeatedly delayed a decision on the matter.”
It accused the courts of repeatedly postponing a decision while construction continued, saying no substantive interim stop order had been granted months after the petitions were filed.
The lobby also cited an earlier incident in which, it said, KWS barred petitioners from entering the park for a court-ordered site visit.
It called on the Judiciary to provide a new ruling date and determine the cases without further delay, citing the public interest in protecting the park.
