- The residents said that the developers of the said building have already cut up trees and dug up the land to bedrock level.
- Kilimani Member of County Assembly Moses Ogeto who is also a resident said the developments must stop.
Image: TEDDY MULEI
Lavington Mbaazi and Hendred Avenue residents held peaceful protests over the development of high-rise buildings on Thursday.
Demonstrating along Mbaazi Avenue, the residents are against the construction of a planned 512 units in a 13-storey block building.
They said the building infringes their residential rights to a clean and healthy environment and that it is being undertaken in total disregard of the zoning regulations.
The residents said that the developers of the said building have already cut up trees and dug up the land to bedrock level.
They are appealing to the government to ensure that these developers of the building bring back the earth, replant the trees and provide some compliant architectural designs.
"We are here to express our anger because we have an illegal Chinese development. It appears that they want to create a concrete jungle here, and they are not obeying the zoning guidelines," Mbaazi Avenue Resident's Association Chairman Bernard Kinara said.
"The zoning guidelines here stipulate that you have to be ground plus four and most of the developers here have kept to that. It is very offensive if you look at what they are doing here, they have reached the bed row, they have even hit a water source and water is accumulating."
He went on: "This place doesn't have enough water. The roads are not adequate for such a building. The sewer system is not good enough for such a building."
He further appealed to the police officers, city council and the government to enforce a court injunction order from the Environment and Land Court of Kenya ordering the stop of the construction.
Kilimani Member of County Assembly Moses Ogeto who is also a resident said the developments must stop.
"I have talked with the county secretary and he has told me that they have been given stopping orders. I believe the contractor should pave immediately from the site until the residents' views have been heard," he said.
Mbaazi resident Ndirangu Maina said they were not involved in the decision of the construction as their cries were not considered in the decision to construct the building.
"The big problem here is the power of public participation. We are not getting consulted and when we are, our decisions and advice are being ignored," Maina said.
"We are asking Governor Sakaja to come and stop this."
Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai said the government should stop these constructions and do upgrading of the area first.
"We want the governor to stop this. We want the planning and development control to be involved as this is not acceptable," he said."
"The limit for Kilimani and Kileleshwa is four floors. The infrastructure available since the 1990s is not strong enough to support such a building in 2023. The sewers, the water, electricity and roads among others need upgrading. This development has no Corporate Social Responsibility."
On October 19, the Environment and Land Court upon hearing the resident's petition, issued a conservatory order restraining the contractors, servants, agents or employees from continuing with the construction of the proposed blocks of the apartments on LR No 330/155, pending hearing on November 2.
Kinara said the contractor is not abiding by these orders and that the construction is ongoing despite the issuance of the restraining order.