The presidential decree described the four-story building as “the son of Kenya’s cultural and ecological heritage”.
The fig tree is considered sacred in Kenya’s most populous ethnic group, Kikuyu.
Environmentalists were campaigning against the planned destruction of trees planted on the Wyky Way west of the city, where engineers are building an expressway over existing roads on poles.
“Now it is the president’s announcement that the tree will be protected,” Mohamed Buddy, director general of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), told a news conference next to the tree.
The East African nation’s road agency said in October that it plans to uproot and transplant the pillars to support the expressway.
The tree will be adopted by NMS on behalf of city residents, and both China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and the Kenya National Highway Authority have agreed to rebuild the road.
Elizabeth Vathuti, Kenya’s leading environmental activist, said the tree would now stand as a symbol of the city’s aspirations.
“This particular fig tree is just a symbol of the big picture of what we want. We want greenery and a clean city, and clean Kenya.”
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