Locals’ uproar over landmark tower pulled down for road expansion

The 62 year old clock tower was erected to mark the visit of Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret on October 22, 1956. [Photo: Erastus Mulwa/ Standard]

For 61 straight years, a towering landmark stood upright at the heart of Kenya’s first administrative capital, Machakos.

A clock tower bearing historical inscriptions mounted seven years before Kenya’s independence served as a heritage obelisk with sentimental value for locals who understood the town’s history.