Aboard the papal plane, 05 August, 2026 / 1:08 pm (ACI Africa). Bishop Alfred Kipkoech Arap Rotich of the Catholic Diocese of Kericho has called for immediate government intervention to halt the destruction of the Londiani Forest Block, particularly the Sambret area and its surrounding ecosystem. In his open letter to the President of the Republic of Kenya, President William Samoei Ruto, Bishop Rotich called for a shared responsibility for both the government and the church to protect the environment instead of destroying it. “I address you with a heavy heart but with a steadfast hope rooted in our shared duty to safeguard our nation,” Bishop Rotich said in his letter published on Monday, August 3. The Londiani forest block, and most critically the Sambret area and its surrounding ecosystem, is facing unprecedented destruction.