(Hold) Why Karura Forest adopted e-Citizen payment - Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko

Karura Forest signage. (Photo: KWS)

By Maureen Kinyanjui
Tuesday, September 2, 2025

The new digital payment system at Karura Forest was introduced to replace a temporary pilot and fully comply with a government directive mandating that all state agency payments be processed through the e-Citizen platform.

Speaking during an interview with NTV's Fixing the Nation on Tuesday, Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko explained that the previous system was informal and did not meet national digital standards, making the transition necessary.

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“The new payment system is essentially a government directive, marking a shift from manual operations to a digital portal. Kenya’s current national agenda is focused on moving to the Digital Highway,” said Lemarkoko.

Lemarkoko added that while most forest stations had already transitioned, Karura was the last to adopt the system due to prior arrangements. The earlier payment method was a pilot jointly managed by the Community Forest Association (CFA), now Friends of Karura and KFS.

“The previous model was more or less a pilot, using non-designated methods or platforms. This is where we’re moving away because of the directive,” he said.

He said the pilot was initially intended to test efficiency and collaboration with stakeholders, but the temporary arrangement was no longer suitable for formal operations.

“Basically, we wanted to make things move more efficiently, and it’s the first time that we explored working with the other stakeholders and raising resources to enhance the management of the forest,” he explained.

Protests broke out at Karura Forest over the weekend as members of the Friends of Karura Forest confronted KFS officers over the sudden rollout of the e-Citizen payment system for entry and services.

Videos show crowds objecting to the change, announced on August 28 and enforced the following day, as not just an administrative adjustment but, in their view, a move that overrides a community-based governance model.

Karura’s history explains the intensity of the reaction.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a coalition led by the late Nobel laureate Prof Wangari Maathai and others defended the forest against excision and neglect, pressing for participatory management.

Over time, KFS and FKF established a joint framework that shared responsibilities for security, maintenance, and revenue, transforming Karura from an unsafe area into a widely used urban forest.

FKF argues that the e-Citizen rollout reverses those gains by centralising control over funds that the community has relied on for conservation and management.

Lemarkoko emphasised that KFS’s mandate extends beyond preservation to include rational and sustainable use of forest resources. “Conservation in forestry entails much, much beyond just preservation; we also allow for a rational utilisation of the resource,” he said.

The rollout at Karura Forest completes the nationwide adoption of the digital payment system, ensuring compliance with government policy, improving efficiency, and strengthening coordination with community partners