Reprieve as Waititu eats a humble pie, agrees to lease Posta land

Bus Park that had been built by Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu at 1.9 hectares piece of land in Makongeni, Thika belonging to the Postal Corporation of Kenya. [Kamau Maichuhie/Standard]

Governor Ferdinand Waititu is optimistic that the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) will enter into an agreement to lease four of its properties to the county for infrastructure development.

The State Corporation has been embroiled in a tussle with Mr Waititu after his administration took over two of its prime pieces of land in Kiambu and Thika towns to build bus parks without its consent.

On Monday, the governor held a meeting with ICT Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng’, Postmaster-General Dan Kagwe, and other stakeholders where the matter was discussed at length.

PCK Corporate and Public Affairs Manager Gichuki Njeru said the talks had yielded much progress.

“The county government has made a formal request to lease properties from the Postal Corporation of Kenya, which are in Thika, Kiambu, Gatundu and Limuru, for use in establishing a bus park and any other county services. The Postmaster-General is considering the request,” said Mr Gichuki.

Gichuki said what PCK required from the county administration was an assurance that they would follow the stipulated laws during the entire leasing process.

On Sunday, matatu operators and commuters were shocked to find that a new bus park in Makongeni, Thika, which had been launched by the governor the previous day, had been cordoned off by a contingent of General Service Unit personnel.

The officers were enforcing a court order issued to the PCK after its previous efforts to restrain the governor from moving into their land failed. The case will be heard on January 24.

On Monday, Waititu said he was happy with the talks so far, adding that once the agreement was signed, the court case would be withdrawn.

“The police commander in Thika has been asked to withdraw his officers from the property since we have agreed with the Postal Corporation to end the wrangles and to have their land in Makongeni used as a bus park,” he said.

Waititu warned matatu saccos against erecting permanent structures on the land, saying his administration planned to modernise the bus park.