History of Nairobi: From fetid swamp to bustling urban jungle

According to information on the Nairobi City County website, Nairobi was an uninhabited swamp until a supply depot of the Uganda Railway was built by the British in 1899, linking Mombasa to Uganda. The location of the camp was chosen due to its central position between Mombasa and Kampala. It was also chosen because its network of rivers could supply the camp with water and its elevation would make it cool enough for residential purposes for not only the thousands of Indian labourers who came to Kenya seeking to be employed to work on the railway line but also for the British settlers.

A favourable location the place soon grew, becoming the railway headquarters, which was transferred from Machakos town. The growth came with various challenges prompting the setting up of a five-member committee to look into the problems ranging from lack of street lighting, unplanned shops, improper streets, no conservancy, lack of refuse collection points and insecurity. The committee obtained its plans, marked out plots and roadways in the commercial area and sought Government’s permission to cut wood for scantlings to build the new shops and other necessary establishments.