Police stop looters at Wamatangi's flattened premises

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi inspects the ruins of his business premises after demolition along Douglas Wakihuri Road, behind Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, on January 14, 2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

A day after Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s property near Nyayo Stadium was demolished, police officers were stretched thin, maintaining constant watch over groups of youths attempting to loot valuables buried beneath the debris.

By mid-morning, crowds had gathered at a distance, curious to search through the rubble, prompting officers to lob teargas to disperse them.

Police barricaded Douglas Wakihuri Road, along which the premises were located, turning away motorists and only allowing access to those seeking to fuel at a nearby station.

Security was so tight that even journalists struggled to access the area as officers attempted to bar them.

An excavator was on site, combing through heaps of twisted metal, broken concrete, and splintered wood in search of valuables believed to have been trapped in the debris.

Some workers moved cautiously, guiding the machine as it peeled away layers of debris, occasionally stopping to allow manual searches in delicate areas.

The demolition of the structures on Kenya Railways land was carried out in the early hours of Tuesday under heavy police supervision, leaving the governor counting significant losses.

While visiting the site on Wednesday, Wamatangi condemned the incident, calling it “an act of cowardice.”

He alleged that the demolition was a political witch-hunt intended to intimidate him, accusing unnamed individuals of abusing government offices to silence him.

“Stop using government offices to ruin me. Stop using State offices to destroy my property and intimidate me. This is an act of cowardice,” he said, maintaining that the government’s actions contravened the law.

“I had received a court order barring them from interfering or demolishing the business,” he added.

Kenya Railways, however, insisted that it had issued notice weeks before the exercise.

The business, Superclean Shine Enterprise Ltd, sued Kenya Railways and the Attorney General in December last year, following the first threat of demolishing the structures opposite Nyayo Stadium.

On the day the property was demolished, the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Nairobi had issued orders against the two, restraining them from interfering with, evicting, or demolishing the property until the hearing of the application.

Principal Magistrate Muthoni Njagi issued the injunction, which read in part:
“An order of injunction be and is hereby issued restraining the respondents, either by themselves or through their agents, servants, and/or anyone under their authority, from demolishing, destroying, and/or in any other manner interfering with the structures erected on all that property known as Plot Number 209/1618, situated along Douglas Wakiihuri Road off Lang’ata Road (formerly Aerodrome Road), adjacent to Nyayo National Stadium.”

The AG’s office received the orders at 3.08 pm, while Kenya Railways was served with the same orders 15 minutes later.

Several large containers had been delivered to the scene to safely store items retrieved from the ruins.

“These containers were brought here yesterday (Wednesday) evening by the governor to keep the items we have managed to salvage safe,” one of the workers in red reflectors, who declined to be named said.

The Standard also observed a lorry leaving the site carrying a generator and other equipment.

Youths, believed to have been hired by the governor, kept close watch over the salvage process while carrying batons.

In court, Superclean stated that it had leased the property from Kenya Railways and had been occupying it for two decades.

It stated that it had continuously and consistently paid the required rent without any disturbance.