The Kenya Coalition for Wildlife Conservation and Management chairman Sidney Quantai led protests in Nairobi Friday against the proposed construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), across the Nairobi National Park.
The protests sought to present a petition to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to compel the government to use alternative routes for the 6km SGR bridge that would pass over the Nairobi National Park.
“We do not want any construction to go on. We are saying even the Chinese who already are putting a permanent camp near Rongai should stop that because they started even doing beacons on people’s lands without consulting them,” Quantai stated.
They pointed out that the construction of the railway in the middle of the park will destabilise the balance between humans and wildlife as animals move from their natural residence to areas inhabited by communities.
“Kenya is a great place for wildlife and what will actually happen is that the moment these wildlife move out and they get affected by people out there, that will make the park less attractive and it will be avoided. Kenya is a great destination for safari and Nairobi National Park being the oldest national park in Nairobi represents all the other 68 national parks in the country,” one of the protestors said.
Meanwhile, the KWS has indicated that there will be public dialogue on the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway across the Nairobi National Park.
Director General Kitili Mbathi also stated that an impact assessment test will be conducted by Kenya Railways to ensure that no one is affected by it.