Court Extends Orders Blocking Meru State Lodge Project

President William Ruto’s plan to build a State Lodge in Imenti Forest has been halted again after the Environment and Land Court in Meru issued fresh conservatory orders stopping all work on the project until the case is heard.

Plans by President William Ruto’s administration to build a State Lodge in Imenti Forest have suffered another setback after the Environment and Land Court in Meru issued fresh conservatory orders stopping all work on the project until the case is heard.

Justice Oguttu Mboya ruled that no part of the protected forest may be excised, cleared, developed or altered until the court determines the matter. The orders, issued on 23 June, extend earlier conservatory orders granted on 10 June and will remain in force until 30 June, when the court is expected to consider consolidating three separate petitions challenging the project.

The latest petition was filed by the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance and the Meru Forest Conservation Forum. The organisations argue that the proposed State Lodge, together with a golf course and an airstrip, would threaten Imenti Forest, an important water catchment on the slopes of Mount Kenya that supports communities across Meru County. 

They contend that the development would damage the forest ecosystem and affect livelihoods that depend on its resources. President Ruto has defended the proposal, saying Meru should have a State Lodge like other parts of the country. Speaking at Burieruri High School in Meru County on 28 June during a thanksgiving service, he said it was his responsibility to travel and stay in every region of Kenya.

“I have the duty to walk and sleep in every part of this country. If there is a State Lodge in other parts of the country, why should there not be a State Lodge in Meru County?” he said.

Kenya has 11 State Lodges and three State Houses, which serve as official presidential residences and venues for state functions. The State Lodges are located in Eldoret, Sagana, Kisumu, Kakamega, Kitale, Rumuruti, Bungoma, Kilifi, Cherang’any, Kisii and Homa Bay. 

President Ruto has argued that the absence of a State Lodge in Meru reflects years of unequal development and said his administration intends to address that imbalance. The court is expected to consider the next stage of the case on 30 June, when it will also decide whether to combine the three petitions challenging the proposed development.