Government Spokesperson Charles Owino has defended the harvesting of mature commercial trees in the Aberdare Forest, saying the exercise was lawful and followed procurement procedures.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Thursday, Owino said the trees, including cypress, had reached the end of their commercial lifespan and were at risk of losing their timber value if left standing for too long.
He said the Kenya Forest Service was authorised to invite sawmillers to bid for the harvesting and disposal of trees in designated areas, adding that three sawmillers had been awarded contracts in the disputed exercise.
“It is not an illegal process, and it was not wrong to harvest,” Owino said.
He explained that seedlings were prepared for planting as the mature trees were harvested, after which the cleared areas would be replanted.
According to Owino, local communities are allowed to grow crops such as potatoes in the replanted areas for three years while maintaining the young trees.
He dismissed claims that the government was targeting forests in the Central region, saying the three successful millers were from the region and their milling stations were based in Central Kenya.
Owino argued that the controversy could partly be driven by competition over who was awarded the contracts, maintaining that anyone disputing the procurement process could raise the matter with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority.
However, Progress Plus Alliance Party leader Maliba Arnold challenged the government’s handling of the exercise, saying public participation and accountability were necessary even where government decisions were not inherently wrong.
“People do not have a problem with what government is doing. People have a problem with how government is doing, when government is doing, and why,” Arnold said.
He accused the government of communicating its decisions without adequately answering questions about how they were reached, arguing that the country’s natural resources must be protected for future generations.
“A government that liquidates its natural capital is simply borrowing from the future and leaving the bill for our children,” Arnold said.
Owino maintained that the harvesting involved commercial plantation trees, distinguishing them from indigenous trees that he said should be preserved in water towers to protect water infiltration and catchment areas.
The dispute is now before the Environment and Land Court following a petition by Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia and local resident Elijah Gachuki challenging logging activities in the forest.
On October 23, the court extended orders suspending tree felling and transportation from the Aberdare Forest after a site visit to the Geta Forest block.
The matter is scheduled for further directions on November 11.