Kenya's former Chief Justice David Maraga was arrested on Monday while taking part in a demonstration against planned construction inside Nairobi National Park, a 117-square-kilometre wildlife sanctuary that sits within the boundaries of the Kenyan capital — a rare distinction that makes it one of the few urban national parks in the world. Maraga, who leads the United Green Movement party and has signalled his intention to run for president in 2027, was among ten people detained when police dispersed the protest. He has since been released but refused to leave the police station until the other activists were freed.

Protesters gathered along a road bordering the park to oppose what they describe as a two-pronged threat to the protected area. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the government body that manages the park, stands accused of transferring a portion of park land to a neighbouring convention centre and of planning to build a large new animal orphanage within the site. Demonstrators also condemned an alleged plan to construct a car park with space for 1,300 vehicles. Social media footage showed police breaking up the march and detaining a group of protesters who had sat down in the middle of a two-lane highway. The arrests prompted immediate backlash, with activist Njeri Mwangi arguing that the constitution guarantees citizens the right to peaceful protest.

The KWS has vigorously defended its proposals. Officials say the relocated and expanded orphanage will improve animal welfare and veterinary training while enhancing the visitor experience. It would occupy approximately 89 acres — just 0.31 percent of the park's total area, according to a KWS official. The service has also stated that the public was consulted on the orphanage plans, though it has not directly addressed the allegations concerning the car park.

Maraga described his fellow detainees as "patriotic Kenyans" and called for public participation in any decisions affecting protected land. "Our national heritage and environment must be safeguarded from greed and unnecessary destruction," he wrote on X. Amnesty International, alongside Greenpeace Africa, Friends of Nairobi National Park, and The Green Belt Movement, jointly condemned the arrests, calling the police response a "violent dispersal" of citizens exercising their constitutional rights.

The episode highlights growing tensions in Kenya over the balance between urban development and conservation. Nairobi National Park, which hosts lions, rhinos, giraffes, and hundreds of bird species against a backdrop of city skyscrapers, has faced repeated encroachment pressures over the decades. Activists argue that incremental concessions to development, even those framed as improvements, set a dangerous precedent for a habitat that cannot easily be restored once lost.