Kenya’s former Chief Justice David Maraga was arrested Monday while leading a protest against planned development in Nairobi National Park.
Maraga and 9 other demonstrators were detained on a two-lane road bordering the 117-sq-km wildlife sanctuary after police broke up the march. Videos online show officers loading the group into a lorry as bystanders chanted “Long live the park.”
The protest targeted two projects activists oppose: an alleged 1,300-space car park on protected land, and a new 89-acre animal orphanage. The Kenya Wildlife Service confirmed the orphanage plan but said it will use just 0.31% of the park. KWS says the facility will upgrade animal care and veterinary training. It hasn’t commented on the car park claims.
Maraga, who leads the United Green Movement and plans to run for president in 2027, was released later but refused to leave the station until the other activists were freed too. Police haven’t issued an official statement.
Posting on X, Maraga said he and “fellow patriotic Kenyans” were trying to deliver a petition to KWS. “Our national heritage and environment must be safeguarded from greed and unnecessary destruction without public participation,” he wrote.
Amnesty International, Greenpeace Africa, and other groups condemned what they called a “violent dispersal” of peaceful protesters. “The use of force against citizens exercising their constitutional rights is unacceptable,” they said in a joint statement.
The 45-sq-mile Nairobi National Park sits inside the capital and is one of Kenya’s top tourist spots.
