Wamuzi News Ke
In a legal move that has shocked the local community and environmental groups, the Environment and Land Court in Kilifi has ordered an instant and temporary stop to all building work at Watamu Public Park, thereby stopping the government’s project of affordable housing development that had been threatening the last public green area in the town.
Judge Mwangi Njoroge, who is the one in charge of the case, has, on December 24, 2025, issued conservatory orders that require all involved to keep the present condition of Plot No. 70 in Watamu while waiting for a complete inter-partes hearing that is set for January 7, 2026.
The order, which is based on the constitutional environmental guarantees and the precautionary principle under the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, shows the court’s firm demand for intensive public participation and environmental due process before major land use changes can take place.
The case was filed by the environmental activist Halima Mohamed, who contended that the deforestation of the park for the housing units was unjustifiable, as it was done without proper dialogues with the affected communities and interfered with the legal protections.
The park with its tall neem trees and the culture of community activities was very much liked by the locals as well as the tourists, and it was going to be turned into a housing area under the national affordable housing program.
On December 20th, the park supporters held peaceful protests and said that losing the park would greatly hurt Watamu’s ecology and tourism, for the green area was not only a point for socializing but also the entrance for the visitors.
They said they were for the affordable housing but that it has to be in a location where, unlike the town’s public park, no destruction would take place.
The lawsuit lists a number of governmental bodies as defendants, among them the Attorney General, the Ministry of Lands and Housing, the Affordable Housing Board, the Kilifi County Government, and NEMA, which leads to questions on compliance with the constitution regarding rights, the obligation to disclose, and environmental management.
This decision is a legal and political blow to the country’s affordable housing campaign that was already struggling, coming after recent court actions in other major housing projects, and also indicating that there will be greater monitoring of projects that compete for land with protecting the environment and the rights of the local people.
Stephen Musungu
