David Maraga has been detained after joining a rally against plans to remove protected parkland
Former Kenyan Chief Justice David Maraga was arrested alongside several activists during a protest against plans affecting Nairobi National Park, local media reported on Monday.
Demonstrators opposed the proposed excision of a 75-acre section of the park, which is intended to make way for a parking facility capable of accommodating more than 1,000 vehicles, and a separate plan to relocate the Nairobi Animal Orphanage to a site near the Bomas of Kenya complex.
Maraga, who is running for president under the United Green Movement (UGM) next year, joined hundreds of protesters, arguing that protected land should not be altered without clear justification.
“Our national heritage and environment must be safeguarded from greed and unnecessary destruction without public participation,” Maraga wrote on X.
According to The Nation, organizers said the demonstration had been approved by regional police, while protesters alleged that plain-clothes officers later moved in and detained participants. The group had intended to deliver a petition to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) headquarters before being stopped by anti-riot police.
Reuters reported that riot police fired tear gas to disperse scores of demonstrators. Officers arrested at least nine people, including Maraga.
The dispute centers on Nairobi National Park, Kenya’s oldest national park, which was established in 1946. The protected area is home to lions, rhinos, giraffes and other wildlife, and has repeatedly been at the center of public campaigns against infrastructure and development projects.
The latest rally is not the first protest to hit Kenya in recent weeks. Last week, hundreds of people took to the streets of Nanyuki to oppose a proposed US Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base. According to reports, two people were killed during the unrest.
The demonstrations have since continued, with Kenyan police firing tear gas and detaining protesters on Tuesday as crowds again gathered to oppose the facility.
