- Kenya Power has for weeks now been cutting down trees in Embakasi, Karen, Integrity Centre, Nairobi Area Police and Telkom area.
- The committee noted that there exists an agreement between the county and Kenya Power, which outlines steps for identifying trees to be felled, relocated, or trimmed.
Image: HANDOUT
City Hall has advised Kenya Power to consider ground cabling in the city to avert the need to prune or cut trees as a safety measure in the future.
The reasoned advisory opinion was arrived at on Tuesday during the 27th ordinary session of the County Executive Committee meeting chaired by Governor Johnson Sakaja.
The meeting raised concern over how the utility firm has been felling trees around the city saying it contravenes existing bylaws.
“It was asserted that Kenya Power must comply with the law, recognising that the authority to approve tree felling resides with the County Government,” a dispatch from City Hall read in part.
The committee noted that there exists an agreement between the county and Kenya Power, which outlines steps for identifying trees to be felled, relocated, or trimmed.
“The Cabinet reaffirmed that all tree felling activities must be duly sanctioned and conducted responsibly and sustainably. Kenya Power has been invited to consider underground cabling to minimise tree felling,” the dispatch added.
Kenya Power has for weeks now been cutting down trees in Embakasi, Karen, Integrity Centre, Nairobi Area Police, Telkom area, near NSSF buildings, Jakaya Kikwete Road, along State House Road and Nairobi Primary School compound.
In felling the trees, the company is guided by a code of conduct which requires it to adhere to environmentally sustainable means even as it seeks to enhance public safety by removing trees near power lines.
“The company respects the environment and is committed to carrying out its activities in an environmentally sustainable manner to ensure current needs are met without compromising the needs of future generations,” reads part of the Code of Conduct and Ethics.
Kenya Power previously explained that it cuts trees along powerlines to avert unplanned outages whenever it rains.
The company said the reason Kenyans are occasionally plunged into darkness whenever it rains is because rains sometimes come with strong winds.
The trees sway, branches touch and occasionally fall on electric lines, it said.
"This triggers a circuit breaker, leading to a power outage," the company said on April 29.
But environmentalists and residents in affected neighbourhoods have raised uproar saying the most environmentally sustainable way would be to prune and not cut down trees.
Through Kenslaw associate advocates, residents within Nyayo estate wrote a demand letter to KPLC decrying what they described as a blatant disregard for the environment by crudely and haphazardly cutting down full-grown trees within the estate.
“Your company must provide a binding commitment, in writing, that it will never again engage in the destructive cutting down of trees within Nyayo Estate,” the law firm told KPLC.
Meanwhile, Sakaja and his cabinet said they are committed to planting 800,000 trees as part of a broader environmental stewardship effort.
They said stringent measures will henceforth be implemented to regulate tree felling and ensure all actions align with the county’s environmental policies and long-term urban planning objectives.
“These resolutions underscore the county government's unwavering commitment to efficient land management, revenue optimisation and the creation of green spaces for the benefit of all Nairobi residents,” the Cabinet said.
“The County Executive Committee remains dedicated to its mandate of delivering effective and sustainable solutions that enhance the quality of life in Nairobi.”