Owners of property along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway have asked Kenha to hasten compensation, saying they were losing money.
Landlords and owners of business premises along the stretch from James Gichuru Junction in Westlands and Rironi in Limuru say their property were marked for demolition.
The demolitions were to pave way for the expansion of the highway. “I build my residential flats with loans and the banks want to be paid yet tenants have moved out,” Francis Kahura said. He has two flats at Zambezi and Regen.
Tenants began moving out after the building were marked for demolition in 2017. The Kenya National Highways Authority was to compensate the landlords by December of that year.
“We are getting impatient. It is over a year now yet we don’t even know when we’ll be paid,” Kimani Njuki said. Njuki owns the Rokim Group in Kinoo. The company specialises in making modern energy saving stoves. He said he lost a tender worth Sh50 million because of the road project.
“The USAID awarded my firm a contract to make 18,000 stoves but cancelled it after they learnt we were marked for demolition,” Njuki said.
Kenha director general Peter Mundinia was unavailable for comment but a senior official at the agency said the matter will be resolved soon. “Let them be patient. Their case is known. As of now, I can’t say when they will be compensated because that will have to be communicated by the Treasury,” the official said.
Residents want MPs Timothy Wanyonyi (Westlands), James Githua (Kabete), Kimani Ichung’wa (Kikuyu)and Peter Mwathi (Limuru) to intervene.