Residents cry to Sakaja over grabbed Lower Kabete Lane land.
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Residents of Lower Kabete lane have raised questions over the unprocedural allocation of a piece of land reserved for road expansion to a private developer.
Kabete Lane road which links the neighbourhood to the Spring valley police station is the land in question.
“The planning officer one Mr Kigathi says it is a road and he already did the report and send it to his boss for action. The Surveyor a Mr. Juma says it is a road and they already wrote to city planning asking for clarification. What is quite boggling is seeing the developer mobilize materials ready to put up a building. We wonder who approved the project?” wondered Mr Shah
In August this year the residents through a letter dated 8th august addressed to the governor Nairobi county and copied to the CECM hon Mulama and the chief officer Mr karimi, the residencts sought a clearance on permission to extend the road. By so writing the rrsidents were very much a aware that the open space was indeed a road reserve. The attached letter below says as much.
However letter by the Nairobi chief officer lands in a memo addressed to the chief officer urban development and planning, and copied to the ag CS who doubles up as the chief officer in question, the lands officer wants clarity of the matter concerning the land.
A letter by lands chief officer to Chief officer urban planning.
Surprisingly, the developer a mr John Wanga has documents proving ownership of the plot in question.
A document authored on 5th February 1997 by the defunct city council concerning the said plot allocates the land to one Mr William Wanga allowing him to use it for residential purposes. Documents sought further from the city county show that the developer laid 18000 and 1800 to have the land alloted to him.
Allotment and proof of payments to the defunct NCC
Authenticity of the documents presented by the developer a Mr Wanga remains questionable. Effprts by the residents to try and get answers from the County have not born truth. Questions still linger? Between the developer and the county who is right. Residents are still searchiñg for answers.
Despite the controversy surrounding the ownership and despite area residents raising the alarm and subsequently drawing the attention of area DCC and the county authorities, NEMA went ahead and approved the developer’s intention of converting the road reserve into a residential area. An approval seen by our team dated 4th april 2023, nema gives a no objection to the developer. Residents now ask, did the developer conduct any sort of public participation and if he did who attended? And if it wasnt carried out who is approving such constructions in the area? Many questions remain unanswered.
NEMAs approval letter allowing the construction.
Upon residents rising up against the continuation of the project, officers from the Nairobi county came forth and suspended the construction by marking it X. Howe er the developer is still going on with the initial plans to put up a building. This blantant disobedience of the laws has left residence questioning the ability of the county government to enforce its own laws.
constructions on going 
“We are living in fear, if the county government that we pay tax to cannot enforce its own laws, how safe are we? It began with School Lane where the developer rubbed the red marks and continued with the construction. We are now appealing to governor Sakaja to reign in on rogue developers who we have every reason to believe that they are working in cohort with some city county officers” lamented a neighbour.
NCC suspending construction but it is still ongoing
Last month, the Nairobi county secretary Mr Analo red the riot act to those grabbing government land. The tough talking CS said that no stone will be left unturned and no inch of public land shall be stolen. Our efforts to get the other side of the story from county officers proved futile as our calls went unanswered.
Residents and Nairobians at large are now marvelling at how uncoordinated the county government is. One department approves the construction another one queations issues surrounding the said land ownership.
