Lobby group Kituo cha Sheria has sued to stop the government from relocating the animal orphanage at the Nairobi National Park to pave way for Bomas of Kenya expansion.
Kituo cha Sheria in its court papers claims that the relocation is a smokescreen intended to irregularly hive 76 acres of land off the park for the Sh41.9 billion expansion of the Bomas International Convention Centre.
The lobby group has sought orders to temporarily stop the orphanage’s relocation and construction under the Bomas expansion project.
Kituo cha Sheria says asked the court to urgently stop the clearing of an indigenous upland forest that serves as a critical sanctuary for the critically endangered black rhino.
At the heart of the legal challenge is a sworn supporting affidavit from Kituo cha Sheria’s executive director, Dr Wambua Kituku, which details a series of alleged illegalities ranging from gross financial misconduct to the mischievous filtering of public concerns to favor the project that he claims will cause irreparable damage to the Nairobi National Park.
"I verily believe that the respondents' attempt to alienate or repurpose public land for commercial and infrastructural use (parking facilities) over ecological sustainability is a gross violation of the 1st Petitioner’s right and the right of the people of Kenya to a clean and healthy environment as envisioned in the Constitution," said the affidavit in part.
Dr Kituku argues that the BICC project had been initially flagged by the Auditor-General since it had not been contemplated or allocated any amount in the budget for the 2024/2025 financial year, saying expenditures incurred outside the budget are termed as financial misconduct.
The BICC renovations had also deliberately failed to earlier declare the source of funds for the project, which was later revealed to be the Tourism Fund in a public-private partnership.
“Appearing before the Senate in February 2026, the Auditor-General had flagged the repayment period of the money of 24 months — a complete turnaround against the earlier National Treasury period of 10 years,” said Dr Kituku.
According to him, the renovations were already irregular and illegitimate, and linking them to the hiving off of the Nairobi National Park begged questions of its legitimacy.
He added that the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage and using 8 acres to have a parking that will be used by both BICC and the orphanage will affect the park immensely and needed to be subjected to public participation, which despite being done, was not as open as it should be.
“KWS and National Environment Management Authority (Nema) refused and neglected to provide the petitioners with a reasonable opportunity and notice amounting to gross violation of their rights as protected by the 2010 Constitution,” said the affidavit.
He explained that an invitation was sent on September 25, 2025, for a consultation and public participation meeting for the Environment and Social Impact Assessment for the project, but the public participation was not publicly advertised and Kenyans knew of the meeting on the morning of the event through conservation partners.
During the meeting, members of the public were not offered any documents, nor were formal briefings or project documents availed for effective participation. He argues that the timeline was very short for key stakeholders in wildlife and conservation to avail themselves as the meeting was held on October 2, 2025.
KWS and Nema also failed to avail an email to receive public opinion from members who could not make it to the physical meeting. The respondents were also meant to hold at least three public participations to explain the effects of the projects and to receive written and oral comments, but only did one.
Dr Kituku also says that the relevant parties held the public participation and in their reports only included the comments that supported the project.
“Seemingly the meetings of the public consultation were edited to remove questions or objections about the parking lot,” said the affidavit.
He added that Nema failed to publish the report in the Kenya Gazette and two newspapers with national circulation as required under section 59 of EMCA to collect opinions for 30 days before the license is given.
Dr Kituku further points to significant ambiguity and vagueness in the project’s documentation, noting that the government's own reports provide conflicting information regarding the scale of the encroachment.
According to the affidavit, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report lists four different and inconsistent measurements for the project area, ranging from 26 acres to 99 acres—while providing contradictory details on the length of the perimeter fence, cited as both 700 meters and 10 kilometres.
The lobby group argues that this obscurity makes it impossible to determine the true extent of the intended alienation of park land.
The lobby group is now seeking an urgent conservatory order to stop the project, citing that the government has already moved past the planning phase.
According to Dr Kituku, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has already mobilised funding and commenced physical works, including the erection of a 700-metre electric perimeter fence around the proposed site.
Kituo cha Sheria is asking the court to quash the project's Nema license and issue a permanent injunction to prevent the alienation of any park land for non-conservation purposes.
Beyond the work already underway, the petition calls for a restoration mandate seeking to compel the government to restore any degraded areas of the forest to their original state. Dr Kituku argues that the legal intervention is a matter of extreme urgency to prevent the completion of a project that prioritized a 1,300-slot car park over the survival of the park's ecosystem.
“Kituo cha Sheria reiterates the importance of safeguarding protected environmental areas for present and future generations and calls upon all relevant stakeholders to uphold transparency, legality and meaningful public participation in decisions touching on Kenya’s natural resources,” said Dr Kituku.
The matter was certified as urgent by Justice OA Angote on April 30, 2026. The court has directed the government respondents to file their responses ahead of a hearing scheduled for June 30.
