Close to one thousand tree stumps stick out as the only remaining relics of what used to be a lush green expanse of collection of green scenery of the Nairobi’s Waiyaki Way - Uhuru Highway – Mombasa Road 27.1Kms stretch.
The scenic beauty offered by the trees now seems like a distant past with most of them falling by the wayside to give way to the construction of the Sh59 billion expressway, running from Mlolongo connecting the JKIA to the city centre before terminating at James Gichuru Road in Westlands.
One here, two there struggle to “resurrect” through outgrowths but that seems to be a daunting task as the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) machines are sure to snuff life out of them.
The stretch between Sameer Park and the airport is one that environmentalists will wish to be just a dream. Many of these trees were reportedly planted by the Nairobi City Council on completion of Waiyaki Way in the 1990s.
Despite protests by Kenyans on social media and other platforms expressing their disappointment over the manner of the felling of the trees and even a petition to stop the destruction, the government seems undeterred.
Counting the aftermath of the wanton felling is not a walk in the park as one quickly loses count as minutes turn to hours. This is the Waiyaki Way stretch.
The last month’s destruction is substantial with Grevillea and Nandi Flame species of trees worst affected. The destruction stretches many kilometres after the luxurious Kempinski Hotel just before Waiyaki Way connects with Uhuru Highway.
The massive destruction witnessed along Waiyaki Way once again plays before the eyes as the scenic beauty of tall, lush green trees that once dotted the stretch leading to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is replaced with tall and huge pillars of concrete.
Despite protests by Kenyans on social media and other platforms expressing their disappointment over the manner of the felling of the trees and even a petition to stop the destruction, the government seems undeterred.
Even cries from environmental conservationists who had vowed to go to court to challenge the mega project’s design, which effectively cuts a section of Uhuru Park and wildlife conservation spaces in the capital, fell on deaf ears.
One such environmentalist was Green Generation Initiative founder and head of campaigns at the Wangari Maathai Foundation Madam Elizabeth Wathuti, in an interview warned that future generations will pay for the destruction of trees -- which provided good scenery and shade in addition to their environmental benefits -- to pave way for development.
“Those trees that we are cutting down now to replace with concrete take up carbon dioxide from the air, they act as windbreakers, help in retaining rainwater, reduce urban heat, and also improve our health and wellbeing. So when I see trees being cleared along the highways to pave way for any construction, I feel the pain that my generation and future generations will feel every day following the consequences,” said Ms Wathuti in an interview with a local news site.
But, Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) corporate communications director Charles Njogu, in his response, says the trees had to be felled as “there is no road that has ever been built on top of a tree.” Levelling work is ongoing on the stretch while further afield, the 27-km expressway has started taking shape.
We at Kikao Eco-Wild Conservation Initiative just hope that the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) will honor their policy of planting four trees for every one cut down.
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