Kenya Forest Service Stories

Lawyer moves to court to bar Kenya Forest Service from managing City Park
Carolyne Kubwa  |  Oct 07, 2025

Senior Counsel Charles Mugane argues that the management of City Park rightfully belongs to the Nairobi County Government and was unlawfully taken ove...

Paul Mackenzie: Prison staff should stop giving me special treatment, it’s endangering my life
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Oct 07, 2025

The self-proclaimed preacher, accused of orchestrating the deaths of more than 400 followers through extreme starvation in Shakahola, Kilifi County, e...

From smoke and suffering to hope: Eco-friendly stoves transform women’s lives in Marsabit
Issa Hussein  |  Oct 01, 2025

With desertification worsening in Marsabit and other arid regions, reducing dependence on woodfuel is increasingly urgent — both for the environment a...

KFS warns timber, charcoal traders over forged transport documents
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Oct 01, 2025

KFS explained that the only legitimate way to acquire movement permits for forest products such as timber, logs, poles and charcoal is by visiting the...

State to plant 100 million trees as Kenya marks first Mazingira day
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Oct 01, 2025

The tree-planting initiative will largely focus on schools, with 71.1 million fruit trees expected to be planted in 35,570 public and private primary...

Wildfires burn over 30 per cent of Etosha National Park in Namibia
XINHUA  |  Sep 30, 2025

The Etosha National Park is a major tourist destination in Namibia, drawing thousands of visitors annually to see its wildlife and salt pan landscape.

Shakahola cult: How Mackenzie forged documents to register Good News Church
Farhiya Hussein  |  Sep 30, 2025

The prosecution presented five witnesses before the Shanzu Law Courts in the ongoing trial involving Mackenzie and 95 co-accused persons, who face cha...

Sandalwood consignment worth Sh7.8 million destroyed in Maralal
Mary Wambui  |  Sep 25, 2025

Sandalwood produces essential oils and has parts with proven medicinal properties, including anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits.

Police, KWS seize five tonnes of sandalwood worth millions in Samburu
Issa Hussein  |  Sep 20, 2025

The illegal sandalwood trade, often conducted through illicit logging operations, contributes significantly to deforestation and wildlife trafficking,...

Chakama residents demand subdivision of 50,000-acre ranch linked to cult activities
Rachael Mutabasi  |  Sep 20, 2025

Residents, led by the local Chakama Pastors’ Fellowship, have linked the vast unoccupied land to cult activity, arguing it has become a breeding groun...

Rescue of starving boy sheds light on Shakahola forest tragedy
Farhiya Hussein  |  Sep 18, 2025

Khadijah Wilson recounted how she and her younger brother found the boy, identified in court only as P.P., lying weak outside their shop in the Maduka...

Government launches 10-year mega plan to revive Mau Forest Complex
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 18, 2025

The programme forms part of President William Ruto’s 15 Billion Tree Growing Campaign, which the Environment CS described as “a social contract and a...

Kenya’s tree-planting drive struggles as budget falls behind
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 17, 2025

Launched in 2022, the initiative is split into two major projects: a Sh200 billion programme under the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and a Sh300 billion...

KFS deploys drones to boost security, monitoring in Karura Forest
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 16, 2025

KFS said the drones will fly regular patrols across the forest, working together with existing ground security measures to ensure a safe environment f...

KFS dismisses online petition on Karura Forest, defends eCitizen revenue collection
Lucy Mumbi  |  Sep 14, 2025

The petition, signed by over 8,000 people by Sunday, at 10:00 am, urges the public to support a reversal to the previous system where the Community Fo...

Lawyer moves to court over Nairobi City Park takeover by KFS
Carolyne Kubwa  |  Sep 13, 2025

Mugane contends that City Park has historically fallen under the county's jurisdiction, but KFS allegedly assumed control "secretly and irregularly."

Ebony and ivory: Why elephants and forests rise and fall together in the Congo Basin
The Conversation  |  Sep 11, 2025

Both elephants and rare ebony lie at the heart of the national heritage of Cameroon. By safeguarding elephants, Cameroon can protect the long-term via...

Communities to earn cash for protecting forests under new Bill
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 10, 2025

The Bill outlines a payment-for-ecosystem services model where residents and landowners who engage in conservation would receive incentives.

M-Pesa Foundation backs ambitious restoration of Nairobi’s 63-hectare City Park
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 09, 2025

A five-year roadmap crafted by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the City Park Community Forest Association (CFA) will steer the project, ensuring th...

KFS issues warning after suspected python sighting in Karura Forest
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 05, 2025

KFS confirmed that it is aware of the video, but stressed that it cannot yet confirm whether the sighting actually occurred or if the clip is recent.

Friends of Karura Forest, KFS in bitter row over alleged funds mismanagement
Rachael Mutabasi  |  Sep 04, 2025

The rebuttal follows remarks by Kenya Forest Service Chief Conservator of Forests, Alex Lemarkoko, who claimed that an audit had uncovered irregularit...

Grieving father testifies on losing 12 family members in Shakahola massacre
Farhiya Hussein  |  Sep 04, 2025

Titus Ngonyo Gandi narrated how his wife, Esther Birya Masha, drew their two sons, Harry and Isaack Ngala, into Mackenzie’s cult.

KFS to manage private and community forests under new law
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 04, 2025

Currently, KFS is limited to managing state-owned forests, but the new proposal is designed to reflect changing environmental and global conservation...

Prison boss dismisses Paul Mackenzie's alleged poisoning plot at Shimo la Tewa
Farhiya Hussein  |  Sep 03, 2025

Abdi Willy Adan said only some of the other suspects had refused food since Wednesday, while Mackenzie’s last hunger strike was recorded back in Febru...

KFS accuses Friends of Karura Forest of financial fraud, cites audit as reason for eCitizen move
Lucy Mumbi  |  Sep 02, 2025

KFS Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko said the audit also revealed that FKF failed to submit budgets and work plans for KFS approval, and d...

Friends of Karura Forest sue KFS over mandatory eCitizen payments
Lucy Mumbi  |  Sep 02, 2025

The petitioners, Friends of Karura Forest, a Community Forest Association, argue that the move undermines their 20-year joint management agreement wit...

Why we tarmacked a road inside Karura Forest- KFS
Rachael Mutabasi  |  Sep 02, 2025

Meanwhile, Friends of Karura Forest (FKF) Association has vowed to sue KFS, saying its move to take over all entry and service fee collections at Karu...

Karura Forest at risk of slipping away from the people who saved it
Amina Wako  |  Sep 01, 2025

According to Prof. Njoroge, Friends of Karura Forest has invested over Sh37 million and 15 years of volunteer time into Karura’s conservation.

Friends of Karura Forest to sue KFS over "unilateral" eCitizen takeover
Lucy Mumbi  |  Sep 01, 2025

The dispute follows KFS's announcement that all payments for entry, annual passes, parking and other services will now be processed exclusively throug...

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