Motor Mart one of several iconic Coast buildings to be demolished

Motor Mart building along Moi Avenue in Mombasa County. The building that houses several businesses has been condemned by the county for posing a danger to life and is among several set to be pulled down. [PHOTO: MAARUFU MOHAMED/STANDARD]

Dozens of business and residential premises in Mombasa, including the iconic Motor Mart building in the heart of the coastal city, have been earmarked for demolition after failing engineering and sanitation tests.

Owners of these buildings have been given 30 days to evacuate tenants and business enterprises, although some of the inhabitants have been living there illegally following protracted legal battles.

Besides Motor Mart on Mombasa’s Moi Avenue, several other properties in Mombasa’s Old Town are slated for demolition, as well as two blocks of residential flats in Mikindani and Bamburi estates.

Authorities are encountering problems dealing with properties in Old Town, which are protected by the National Museums authority and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

Mombasa County Director of Planning Paul Manyala confirmed yesterday that he had issued evction notices to tenants in the earmarked buildings following an audit by National Construction Authority and the county government which found them to be inhabitable.

“The county government has issued enforcement notices to the owners of the buildings in question to evacuate the tenants within 30 days,” said Mr Manyala.

The director said this was in line with the directive by Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho to deal with inhabitable buildings.

Motor Mart, owned by the Kenya Ports Authority Pension scheme, was condemned in 2012 but was not pulled down following a court battle between the tenants and the scheme, which has dragged on for four years.

Some businessmen who claim to be agents of KPA’s Pension Scheme have been collecting rent from unsuspecting businessmen who have no idea the building had been condemned.

Matter In Court

KPA’s Pension Scheme Administrator MM Amahwa denied the scheme had signed any contract with anyone to collect rent on behalf of the pensioners.

“The matter is in court but the truth is that the building can collapse anytime since it has not been renovated as had been recommended by engineers who assessed it in 2012,” said Mr Amahwa.

Amahwa said as the scheme’s administrator, he had been the subject of court proceedings several times for failing to comply with public health laws, yet the tenants refused to move out.

The ground floor has restaurants and shops while the upper floors host offices, posing a danger to tenant’s lives.

The water drainage system collapsed a long time ago, and the building has no toilets.

Maxcad Consulting Engineers, the company that assessed the building, said in its report dated July 9, 2012 that there was need to reinforce the beams and columns of the building immediately.

Engineer Mordecai Omenda advised the KPA Pension Scheme to repair the building immediately as it risked collapse within two years.

The engineer recommended complete structural rehabilitation to stop the building from collapsing.

However, after the court stopped scheme officials from evicting tenants in 2012 nothing happened.

The Standard can reveal that following the deteriorating condition of the building, the chairman of the board of trustees of the KPA Pension Scheme, Vincent wa Kayanda, last year wrote to the National Construction Authority (NCA) raising the alarm.

The letter dated June 5, 2015, requested NCA to issue an executive order to have the building brought down to avert loss of life and property. However, no response was forthcoming.

“I am aware this building was condemned four years ago after it was discovered that the beams and columns were compromised,” said David Jomeli, the assistant technical director of the Kenya Federation of Master Builders.

Mr Jomeli, who is the NCA’s facilitator in Coast region, said many highrise buildings in the region were a disaster waiting to happen.