Green Belt Movement Raises Alarm Over Proposed Development in Imenti Forest

The Green Belt Movement has voiced outrage over plans to build an airport, state lodge, and golf course in Imenti Forest, Meru County. It learned that on May 6, 2026, the Principal Secretary for Forestry issued concurrence for a Special User License to construct a 17.5 km Meru Bypass under the World Bank-funded Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project. The movement criticizes recent amendments to the Forest Conservation and Management Act, calling the development "thuggery dressed up as economic progress," and demands full disclosure and an immediate halt to any forest land allocation.