The High Court has dismissed a constitutional petition challenging the construction of the Ksh4.4 billion, 52-kilometre Mau Mau Road through the Aberdare National Park and Forest, clearing the way for the project to proceed.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Justices Lucy Gacheru, Bernard Eboso and James Olola found that the petition lacked merit, ruling that, if fully implemented, the project’s environmental safeguards were adequate.

Gacheru said the law did not require a Strategic Environmental Assessment report when the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licence was issued, adding that the court found no basis to invalidate the approval.

“Under the law that existed in 2024, the first respondent was not obligated to procure a Strategic Environmental Assessment Study report for the purposes of the EIA licence, and that is our finding on that issue. Therefore, it follows that we did not find any merit in this petition herein, and accordingly, we hereby dismiss the same entirely, and we make no orders as to course,” the judge said.

📌 What You Need to Know

The judges also held that the petitioners failed to prove violations of Article 69(1) of the Constitution on the State’s duty to protect and conserve the environment.

Petitioners had moved to court seeking to permanently stop the project, arguing that it threatened a protected area and violated the constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment.

Conservation groups warned that the road would destroy about 25 kilometres of closed Aberdare canopy forest, including the critically endangered Mountain Bongo, cause irreversible environmental, economic and cultural damage, and endanger wildlife.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) defended the project, telling the court it complied with environmental laws, underwent public participation and incorporated mitigation measures identified in the EIA process.

The ruling comes after President William Ruto, in May, had said the Mau Mau Road Project was 60 per cent complete and announced that the government had allocated Ksh2 billion to ensure it is finished within the next two years.

The road, which was rolled out as a Vision 2030 flagship project in 2009 and began construction two years ago, runs across four counties from Githunguri in Kiambu County to Njengu in Nyeri County, where it joins the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke