Nairobi governor Mike Sonko on Friday supervised the recovery of grabbed public land in Gigiri.
The land was meant for a fire station, but a private developer had built a showroom.
Sonko ordered three county fire engines to be moved to the site as the premises will now become a fire station.
"This is public property. From today, we have reclaimed it back and we shall have a modern fire station built here," he said.
Goreti Gichuru, the proprietor of the showroom, asked the governor to give her time to vacate.
"Governor, I'm ready to obey the law, but we are humbly requesting for more time to relocate," she said.
Sonko agreed but said fire engines will be stationed at the site.
At the same time, the governor issued a directive for all grabbed school land to be returned. He said schools cannot be expanded for lack of space.
Sonko said 13 parcels belonging to public schools in Nairobi have either been grabbed or registered under private entities.
He said Bohra and Garden Estate primary school’s title deeds are registered under a private developer, while neighbours have encroached on Daniel Comboni Primary School's land.
Sonko said others schools with similar problems are Kinyanjui Road Primary, Lady Northey Day Nursery, Lang'ata Road Primary, Lavington Primary, Milimani Primary, Murang'a Road, Nairobi Central Day Nursery and Nairobi South Primary among others.
"I have directed county officers to fence the land," Sonko said.
He warned City Hall officials involved in the irregular allocation of land that they will be punished.
"It does not matter, even if you are my close friend. If you approved illegal documents you will go home. I'm waiting for a report on the land before taking action," Sonko said.
The governor said roads around schools will be upgraded and streetlights installed to ensure the safety of students and teachers.