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President Uhuru Kenyatta has called out Kenyan journalists and activists over claims of land grabbing and deforestation in Uhuru Park and Central Park.
President Kenyatta was speaking atop the Nairobi Expressway looking over at the parks which are currently cordoned off from the public.
He expressed displeasure that some people were using the media to spread propaganda and invited the journalist present to get a closer look at the progress of the rehabilitation and renovation.
“I want you to take photos and videos because your friends are saying we are cutting down trees. Can you see any trees that have been felled, maybe you are seeing something I am not.
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“They said they will take us to court but come and show us,” President Kenyatta told the journalists then returned to his conversation with Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director General Mohammed Badi.
The head of state also urged NMS to speed up the restoration of the parks so that it coincides with the launch of the Nairobi Expressway.
Badi had given an estimate that the parks would be ready by the first week of April 2022, yet the expressway is set to be opened in March.
“Try and bring it forward so that we open at the same time we will open this road. Move faster and open it to the public so that people stop spreading propaganda. All this propaganda is for nothing," said the president looking agitated.
In July, Badi announced that NMS would transform Uhuru Park into a modern recreation centre with flowers and waterfronts in six months.
“A city’s green space is literally the life of its people. From Michuki Park, ongoing works at Jeevanjee, Uhuru Park and City Park, rehabilitation and beautification of streets and medians this truly is the Green city in the sun,” he said.