Kenya's ex-chief justice arrested at protest against building on national park

According to BBC Africa, the incident occurred when a sit-in protest that had begun in the morning hours on the south-western edge of the park was dispersed by police. Maraga and 12 fellow protesters were taken to the Nairobi Karen police station; the former chief justice was released a few hours later without being formally charged. The action had been called by the local civil-society group Friends of Nairobi National Park.

In a statement, Kenya's environment and forestry ministry said the private residential project is 200 metres outside the park boundary and that the official environmental impact assessment had been completed. Friends of Nairobi National Park's lawyer Sankale ole Kantai told the BBC the project may affect wildlife movements through the park corridors and that additional independent oversight is required. The Constitutional Court will decide in the coming days whether to accept an interim suspension of the project.

The Nairobi National Park dispute has become a politically charged file in Kenya, where the balance between protected areas and infrastructure projects has shifted rapidly in recent years. President William Ruto said last month that protected areas would not be opened to private investment "unless it serves the public interest." In a brief statement to the BBC after his release, Maraga said "the strength of the constitutional protection regime is being put to the test."