• The activists from Greenpeace Africa said by barring the freeze on the ban saying the future cannot be sacrificed for temporary gains.
• President William Ruto lifted the six-year ban on July 2.
Image: FILE
Activists have celebrated the move by the court to bar the government from lifting the ban on logging.
The activists from Greenpeace Africa said the environment court has put a reminder by barring the freeze on the ban saying the future cannot be sacrificed for temporary gains.
Through their community manager Tracy Makheti, they said the ongoing climate crisis continues to affect lives worldwide, necessitating such bold decisions
"We celebrate this news. The Kenyan government, along with its counterparts across the continent, has the opportunity to take a leading role in showing the world that we do not need to cut down our forests in order to develop. Alternative solutions which prize our custodianship of nature are possible, as long as we are brave enough to pursue them,” she said.
Makheti said from President William Ruto's reaffirmation of Kenya's ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, the government should demonstrate the commitment.
"In July, President William Ruto restated Kenya’s ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by the year 2032 to restore forests and fight climate change. We urge the government to demonstrate this commitment to forests by prioritising existing forests over hopes for saplings," she said.
President Ruto lifted the six-year ban on July 2.
After his move, there were so many arguments from different sectors who felt the President's move would do away with many forests.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) went to court and challenged the move.
The High Court on Thursday declared Ruto's directive unconstitutional.
The Environment and Land Court found that the directive did not follow the required procedure by involving public participation.
It added that the President acted on the premise of court proceedings and revoked his directive, noting that there was no evidence of public participation prior to order.
The judge, however, ordered that the 5,000 hectares of mature and over mature forest plantation trees that have been identified by the Multi-Agency Oversight Team to be harvested.
"A declaration be and is hereby issued that the lifting of the moratorium on logging activities was not by the President, but by the consent of the parties in Nyeri and Meru High Court , which lacked public participation and therefore, unconstitutional, null and void," Justice Oscar Angote ruled.