The cut-down Prof. Wangari Maathai dedicated tree posed a risk to children who use the nearby footpath.
Last week Kenyans on social media were not pleased when a picture of a cut-down tree that had been dedicated to the late Prof Wangari Maathai circulated on the internet. Now according to a report by Nairobi News, Environmentalist Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti has explained why a tree that was planted in memory of the late Nobel Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai was cut down after Kenyans demanded to know who cut it down and for what reasons.
According to Ms. Wathuti, the tree was cut down last month after it split into two and posed a risk to children who use a nearby footpath. She said, “Nature had taken its course. The tree behind the pool right at the Prof Wangari Mathai memorial is splitting into two. It’s a huge risk as kids use that route to the pool and cricket field.”
“When the guys involved got my message, that path was closed on both ways. However, when we were still here deliberating on what to do next, one half of that tree came all the way down and actually damaged the water treatment plant and the remaining half was also posing a risk to the children as it also appeared weak from the top branches and that’s why it also had to come down,” the environmentalist added.
In light of cutting down the tree, eight tree seedlings have been planted along the same line where the tree was cut as a replacement. The tree had been planted a long time ago, but the institution saw it right to dedicate it in memory of the late Prof Wangari Maathai in 2011.
The late Prof Maathai was a known environmental political activist who died in 2011. She will always be remembered for her conservation efforts and being the first African Woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2004.
