Past efforts to reclaim riparian land have often been thwarted by influential businessmen and politically-connected tycoons with an eye for serene river and road reserves.
But it is the defiant construction of palatial residences in Spring Valley along Lower Kabete road that epitomizes the government’s unsuccessful efforts to deter and demolish illegal structures on riparian land and road reserves.
The developer, Sound Equipment Ltd built houses on a two-hectare land which is a riparian land of Mathare River that cuts across the valley.
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The construction which started in 2007 stopped in 2009 following protests by activists led by he late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai.
It, however, resumed in 2013 only to stop temporarily again in early 2015 after then Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu intervened.
However, construction has been going on furtively and the houses are nearing completion.
The demolition of buildings on wetlands or road reserves has been dogged with controversy over the years.
Often the government is browbeaten into abandoning eviction plans by public protests or the cost of destruction.
But with wanton grabbing of public utilities land and encroachment on riparian areas rising by the day, conservationists and urban planners have raised alarm that the city will choke when weather patterns turn unusual as happened in the first half of this hear.
Article 67 of the Constitution says riparian land is public land hence not available for allocation to anyone, while Article 62 says all rivers, lakes as defined by an act of parliament, and all land between high and low water marks are public land.
Whether the government will carry through the current operation remains to be seen. In the past, the government has halted demolitions due to public outcry, varied road plans or abandoned developments altogether for political expediency.
While the authorities have outlawed some of the construction, in some cases officials have colluded with the developers to sanction works behind the scenes. In some cases, City Council inspectors would raid construction sites and cart away implements, but work would resume in the night until structures are completed.
A wetland along Limuru Road next to the Village Market has recently been fenced off by a developer while in Spring Valley along Lower Kabete Road a developer is building ten houses on a two-hectare land which is a riparian of Mathare River that cuts across the valley.
Some of the controversial buildings that have been condemned by NEMA but still stand include Taj mall, Westgate Mall, Ukay Mall, and other residential developments.
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TAJ MALL
Located at the intersection of Outer Ring Road, North Airport Road and Airport South Road, Taj Mall had been the subject of controversy since 2012.
The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) had said part of the building sits on a road reserve and marked it for demolition to pave way for Outer Ring Road expansion.
After the owner, Rameshchandra Gorasia, threatened to sue the government for compensation, KURA
revealed that it had redesigned the eastern bypass to circumvent the building. The mall has now been renamed Airgate Centre.
UKAY MALL
In 2009, then Lands minister James Orengo said Ukay Centre was among those earmarked for demolition because it was built on top of a tributary that drains into the Nairobi River. Visa Oshwal and the parking lot at Westgate were also aid to be sitting on the Nairobi River.
As evidence of the environmental hazard, Ukay Centre is often flooded during heavy rains and the promised demolition is still pending.
SOUTH END MALL, LANGATA ROAD
Of all the structures that drew public attention, none was as pronounced as the building at the Mbagathi /Lang’ata Road round-about.
When it was nearing completion, then Nairobi county Lands executive Christopher Khaemba said that it would not be issued with an occupation certificate since it was built on the banks of Ngong River.
The building has since been occupied by shops and restaurant, begging the question: who authorized?
PEPONI ROAD
Kibarage along Peponi Road is riparian land which has been under contention since early 2000.
In 2015, a perimeter wall around the plot was brought down but its developers have defied environmental warnings and directives to insist on building.
The river flowing through the riparian area has been canalized at various points along the way, which is blamed for increased flooding whenever it rains.
CHALBI DRIVE
A section of the Nairobi River has been illegally canalized by a developer in Lavington area. But in 2011, the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) revoked authorization for construction. Although no development has been undertaken on the land, the perimeter wall still surrounds the site to date.
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