In a petition filed before the Environment and Land Court, petitioner Francis AWino is seeking urgent conservatory orders restraining government agencies and other parties from excising, allocating, licensing, surveying, clearing, fencing, constructing on or otherwise dealing with any part of Imenti Forest pending the hearing and determination of the case.
The petitioner argues that recent reports and public statements have raised concerns that portions of the forest could be earmarked for major infrastructure and development projects, thereby posing a significant threat to its ecological integrity.
Through the application, the court is being asked to issue orders to maintain the status quo and prevent any actions that could alter the forest’s physical, legal, or ecological character.
The petitioner further wants the court to compel government agencies to preserve and produce all records relating to the alleged developments, including correspondence, internal memoranda, maps, survey records, environmental assessments, special user licence applications, easement requests, approvals and other documents connected to the proposed projects.
According to the court documents, the petition challenges the validity and application of the 2025 amendment to Section 56(2) of the Forest Conservation and Management Act, which the petitioner claims has weakened safeguards protecting public forests by permitting roads, utilities, pipelines and related infrastructure projects under a less stringent legal framework.
The petitioner contends that the threatened actions violate constitutional provisions on environmental protection, public participation, fair administrative action and the management of public land, citing Articles 10, 42, 47, 62, 69 and 70 of the Constitution.
He argues that public forests are public land held in trust for present and future generations and that the State has a constitutional obligation to conserve and protect them.
The application warns that unless the court intervenes, Imenti Forest could suffer irreversible environmental damage before the constitutional issues raised in the petition are fully determined.
