The lighting of the iconic fig tree along Waiyaki Way in Westlands, Nairobi on Thursday to usher in Christmas Day would not have happened.The more than a century old, between 125 and 150 years, tree was to be cut down to pave way for the ongoing construction of the multi-billion Nairobi Expressway.
Just like Isaac in the Bible survived from being sacrificed at the hands of his father Abraham, the giant tree escaped at the last minute following spirited outcry from conservationists.
The future of the indeginuous tree had looked bleak but it was spared and lived to tell the Christmas story, a situation that looked impossible two months ago when it dominated both national and international headlines.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta rose to speak during the ceremony, he unveiled a Presidential Declaration on the conservation of the iconic tree.
With the Presidential declaration, later, the giant fig tree was officially adopted by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) for preservation as a beacon of Kenya’s cultural and ecological heritage.
The President said conserving the tree was a reaffirmation of Kenya’s commitment to its cultural values of coexistence, peace and unity as reiterated his administration’s commitment to restore Nairobi’s lost glory as the ‘Green City in the Sun’.
“We are here today on the eve of Christmas to celebrate,I believe our past, our present and our hopes for the future which this iconic tree represents,” said President Kenyatta.
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