Kenya Forest Service Takes Over Eight Muthaiga Golf Club Holes in Karura Forest Boundary Row
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The Kenya Forest Service has taken control of eight holes at Muthaiga Golf Club, saying roughly 21.8 hectares claimed by the club falls inside the gazetted Karura Forest.
The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has taken over access to eight holes on the Muthaiga Golf Club course in Nairobi, saying the section lies within the gazetted Karura Forest boundary. The affected area covers the Front Nine, from Hole No. 2 through to Hole No. 9.
In a memo to members dated Tuesday, September 15, 2026, Muthaiga Golf Club chairman Dennis Mwirigi said KFS had invaded the course and taken over access to the affected holes, and that the club's board was working to resolve the situation as urgently as possible. The club said members would not be allowed to use the eight holes until further notice, while the driving range and parking facilities continue to operate normally.
KFS said in a statement issued the same day that Muthaiga Golf Club claims ownership of Land Reference (LR) No. 13134/3, which the agency says encroaches onto the gazetted Karura Forest by approximately 21.8 hectares. The dispute therefore centres on whether that section falls within the legally gazetted forest.
The agency said Karura Forest was surveyed in the early 1920s, with the survey officially registered in 1923. According to KFS, the forest covers about 1,041.1 hectares and was formally declared a Forest Reserve through Proclamation No. 44 of 1932, before being designated a Central Forest under Legal Notice No. 174 of May 20, 1964, alongside other state forests gazetted before independence.
KFS said a meeting would be held at its headquarters to seek an amicable solution to the conflicting ownership positions, adding that both sides are expected to explore ways of resolving the dispute through mutual agreement rather than prolonged litigation.