Langa Langa: From racing track to real estate complex

An aerial photo showing a section old houses in Langa Langa. Private developers have been forced to demolish old houses and build modern houses. [Harun Wathari, Standard] Mansions, multi-million storey buildings and modern residential houses are the hallmark of a piece of land that surrounds a racing track in Nakuru city. The land which borders Lake Nakuru National Park in the south covers about six kilometres. Racing machines competed on the track quarterly on weekends from the 1950s to the late 1970s, at a time when the city had a small population. The racing machines included specially factory-made racing motorcycles and cars, and Formula One machines popularly referred to as Langa Langa in Kiswahili. The land was the brainchild of colonial masters, who used it during their leisure time after the hustles and bustles of their quarterly working schedules. As a result, the racing venue adopted the name Langa Langa Racing Track. It borders residential estates of Lakeview to the west, Langa Langa Phase One and the then Land Panya slums (Now Pangani Estate) to the south and Mwariki to the east. Residents from these estates flocked to the racing venue to watch the speeding machines, a development that went on for close to three decades. The competing machines brought joy to the city residents at a time its population was steadily rising and the demand for affordable housing was equally increasingly. And the demand for housing forced the then Municipal Council of Nakuru to think of enough land that satisfy the housing needs of the residents. It led to the demarcation of the Langa Langa Racing Track land in a Public Private Partnership (PPP), which allowed its sale to different private developers with the assistance of United States Agency for International Development (USAID). With the approval of the town hall fathers, USAID started with the mapping and building of road networks, built sewer lines, installed lights and social amenities that ended up with the building of modern housing with different architectural designs. The indulgence of the US agency has shaped the landscape of the area to its current status. It came up with modern housing units, several apartments, street lights, shopping centres, schools and shops, which were constructed after the land was sold to willing individuals and private developers That development resulted in the Langa Langa Racing Track being named Racecourse Estate, which today is home to hundreds of middle-class working people. The then Land Panya slums, which neighboured the Langa Langa Racing Track equally benefited from the USAID programme elevating it to another middle class residential estate now named Pangani Estate. Former Municipal Council of Nakuru Director of Housing and Planning James Michoma confirmed that several other estates in the city had equally enjoyed the same programme under the Slum Upgrading Programme. They include DK Kanyi, Kabachia, Pangani, and Mithonge Estates, whose previous occupants were allowed to own them through a special mortgage system. "The US agency has really improved the lifestyles of the city residents, which allowed them to own houses in a specially arranged mortgage system. Today, everybody is happy with these results," said Michoma, who has since retired and works as a professional physical planner. He said the Racecourse Estate is one of the few areas in the city that fully enjoys USAID facilities. "It transformed Racecourse into a multi-billion shilling real estate facility that has improved the landscape of the city today," added Michoma. Over time, the whites started to relocate to other areas, resulting in the track being idle. "This is one of the reasons that made the Nakuru Municipal Council take a decisive measure to use it for the construction of houses," said a landlord in the estate who requested not to be named. Today, an 80x40 parcel of land costs between Sh3.5 million and Sh4.5 million, according to De-Negotiators Agency Managing Director Elly Ogutu. "Such plots here are expensive and only a few individuals can afford them, going by the current marketing trends," he said. Ogutu said it's cheaper to purchase an already developed plot than to go for an empty one. "Those willing to engage in mortgaging here (Racecourse Estate), be advised that it's cheaper and better to purchase an already well-built house than go for empty plots," he pointed out. Architect Zebeddy O'Wakwabi said the prices of plots in the estate have shot beyond the reach of many city residents owing to the developments that has been achieved and witnessed for the past two decades. "Developments here have made the prices of plots expensive within a very short time. It's a trend everywhere around the city where there's a rapid rise in infrastructural development socially and economically," said O'Wakwabi, who has since supervised the construction of several residential houses in the estate. However, he admitted not having any of his architectural works constructed in the same estate. "I have never had any of my works here but I have supervised a number of constructions in the estate for different individuals," he said

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