Karua’s PLP protests govt’s reversal of logging ban
By Joel Masibo, November 4, 2025The People’s Liberation Party (PL) has protested the government’s move to lift the logging ban on Kenya’s forests.
In a statement released on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, the Martha Karua-led party described the decision as a betrayal of logic, science, and the nation’s own environmental commitments.
PLP argued that for a country that has pledged to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 and poured billions of shillings into that ambition, allowing loggers back into our forests reeks of recklessness, short-sightedness, and a scheme to hoodwink Kenyans.
President Ruto made the logging ban reversal announcement on Monday, October 27, during the launch of the Mau Forest Complex Integrated Conservation and Livelihood Improvement Programme in Elburgon, Nakuru County.
Ruto lifts logging ban
He said the decision would help revive the local timber and furniture industries and create jobs for Kenyan youth.
“We shall reopen your timber factory here. We will use our own timber to make furniture. The furniture that will be used in Kenya will be made from locally produced wood, and it is our Kenyan youth who will make that furniture,” Ruto said.
However, PLP has strongly opposed the move taken by the Head of State, accusing him of doing against his pledge of promoting the country’s green cover.
”Mr Ruto’s argument for lifting the ban rests on the claim that forests are overstocked with “mature trees” that need to be harvested to create space for regeneration. That sounds neat on paper, but in practice, it is messy and untidy, because once the floodgates open, illegal loggers, corrupt officers, and politically connected cartels will exploit the chaos. We have seen this movie before, and it never ends well,” the PLP statement said in part.
”Kenya’s tree-planting drive has been one of the most inspiring national efforts in recent memory. Families, communities, corporates, and county governments have mobilised to restore degraded land and increase forest cover. The programme has been touted as a cornerstone of our climate strategy — a pathway to carbon neutrality, better rainfall patterns, and improved livelihoods. By lifting the logging ban, Ruto has undercut the very foundation of that vision, and we must remind him that he cannot plant seedlings with one hand and wield an axe with the other,” the statement added.
The party asked the government to reverse the decision before the damage becomes irreversible, adding that as the country mourns the loss of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, President Ruto should be reminded that Raila fiercely advocated for the preservation of the Mau Forest Complex.
Raila’s green cover efforts
”As Prime Minister, he took the politically costly but principled stand to stop illegal logging, restore the Mau, and secure community land titles. Barely a month after his passing, he is dismantling the very environmental protections he fought for. This is a betrayal to his legacy,” PLP said.
The People’s Liberation Party cautioned that ”The 2018 moratorium on logging was not imposed on a whim. It was a response to the alarming depletion of our forest cover, particularly in critical water catchment areas like the Mau, Cherangany, and Mt. Kenya.”
PLP also accused President Ruto of choosing roadside declarations over due process, arguing that in 2023, his earlier attempt to lift the logging ban was declared unconstitutional by the Environment and Land Court, which ruled that such a decision cannot stand without adequate public participation.
Also, the party added that the Ndung’u Land Report exposed the Mau and other forests as victims of decades of illegal and irregular allocations to politically connected individuals. However, despite efforts of previous administrations to progressively restore Kenya’s forest cover, the country still falls short of the internationally recommended minimum of 10% forest cover.