Nairobi: Residents want over 40 garages out of estate

Residents of Land Mawe in Nairobi's Central Business District now want Governor Evans Kidero to close over 40 garages operating in the estate.

Led by their estate chairman Charles Tabu, the residents decried of massive corruption between the county and Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC) who own the estate, which has led to plots set aside for garbage collection and social amenities allocated to private garages.

"For a 50 by 50 plot, a developer is said to pay Sh300, 000 upfront that is not receipted with a monthly rent of Sh50, 000. This is at the expense of over 6,000 residents," said Tabu.

The garages have also attracted a fuel depot business that has put the safety of the 6,000 residents' at risk: "We had a resident last year die from lung cancer. The same period we had a cholera outbreak. We have a nursery school here with children but the 80 tons tankers still crisscross the estate," he said

Former Environment county minister Evans Ondieki was recently left out during a cabinet reshuffle over failure to take charge of the environment menace.

The residents' efforts to petition to the relevant authorities including National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) and the area Member of Parliament Maina Kamanda have not yet yielded any fruits.

"All the MP said is that he will look into the matter. Nema officials on the ground have been compromised since despite the garages being declared illegal, they have not mobilised any enforcement," Tabu said.

It is claimed that the fuel depot belongs to another Member of Parliament hence the reluctance of the area MP to act on the matter. Efforts by The Standard to contact Kamanda were futile as his calls went unanswered.

According to a letter addressed to KRC dated November 6, 2015, signed by County Director Environment Titus Simiyu, it was stated that none of the over 30 garages had been ascertained to determine their environmental impact.

"The operations of these garages continue to pose serious environmental impacts such as soil and water contamination through spills which are health risks. More so, they are within a residential area hence out of place with the areal land use planning," added the letter.