President William Ruto speaking in Nakuru county on October 27, 2025./PCSPresident William Ruto has lifted the ban on logging to allow the harvesting of mature trees in forests across the country, saying the move is aimed at promoting local industries and reducing dependence on imported timber products.
Speaking on Monday during a public engagement at Molo Technical and Vocational College in Elburgon, Nakuru County, the President said the decision was reached to ensure mature trees are put to productive use instead of rotting in forests.
“We shall reopen the timber factories here in Elburgon. I have told my Minister of Trade, Mr Lee Kinyanjui, that importing furniture from China must end. We will use our wood to make furniture,” President Ruto said.
The President emphasised that the lifting of the ban is conditional and restricted to the harvesting of mature trees only. He cautioned that the directive should not be misused as an excuse for illegal logging or environmental destruction.
“The lifting of the logging ban does not mean that we destroy our forests. It means we will harvest trees responsibly, replant them, and ensure our forests remain sustainable,” he said.
The latest announcement by President Ruto comes in two years after the High Court declared a similar directive by the president in 2023 unconstitutional.
Ruto first lifted the six-year ban on July 2, 2023 during a visit to Molo, Nakuru County.
However on Thursday, October 12, 2023, the Environment and Land Court found that the directive did not follow the required procedure by involving public participation.
It added that the President acted on the premise of court proceedings and revoked the same, noting that there was no evidence of public participation prior to the consent.
"A declaration be and is hereby issued that the lifting of the moratorium on logging activities was not by the President, but by the consent of the parties in Nyeri and Meru High Court , which lacked public participation and therefore, unconstitutional, null and void," Judge Oscar Angote ruled.
The judge, however, ordered that the 5,000 hectares of mature and over mature forest plantation trees that have been identified by the Multi-Agency Oversight Team to be harvested.
During his tour of Nakuru County President Ruto also announced that the government will soon begin selling mature trees in all public forests to local sawmillers.
He said discussions with sawmillers would be held to agree on guidelines for responsible logging and sustainable forest management.
According to the President, the timber harvested locally will be used to support the ongoing Affordable Housing Programme by providing materials for the manufacture of furniture for the housing units under construction.
“Furniture in Kenya will use timber from here, and our Kenyan youth will create that furniture,” he said, noting that this approach would create employment opportunities and stimulate the local manufacturing sector.
The court ruling came after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) challenged Ruto's July directive.
During his visit to Nakuru, President Ruto was accompanied by several leaders, including Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, Cabinet Secretaries Alice Wahome (Lands and Housing) and Lee Kinyanjui (Trade), Principal Secretary Charles Hinga, and Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot.
Earlier in the day, the President visited Kuresoi North Constituency for the Mau Forest Restoration Programme, where he launched livelihood projects to support communities living around the Mau ecosystem.
He said the government remains committed to balancing conservation and economic use of natural resources.
After the Elburgon event, President Ruto commissioned the completed 220-unit St. Claire Affordable Housing Project and laid the foundation stone for the 2,680-unit Michinda Affordable Housing Project in the same town.
The logging ban, first imposed in 2018, was aimed at curbing forest depletion and promoting reforestation efforts.
It's lifting, the President said, marks a new phase where conservation and economic growth will go hand in hand through regulated and sustainable forest management.
