Nakuru’s Section 58 enjoys State House privileges

BY POCYLINE KARANI

Section 58, or ‘five eight’ as it is fondly referred to by residents, is an estate with plush homes. It is sandwiched between Nakuru’s State House to the North and Bondeni to the South of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

Some of the new buildings in the area. [PHOTOS: Boniface Thuku/Standard]

Within this hood are five old housing projects — Kabachia 1-4 and Mama Ngina — built in the early 1970s by the Government. It is from here that the frangipani-scented enclaves of the rich and new developments spread.

Down south-east of this hood stands the Municipal Council’s fire station. Its classical beauty and ancient faÁade can be confused for a historical museum. Sadly, its environs are famous for the brewing of illicit liquors. It doesn’t help matters that the fire station is home to rickety fire engines.

Section 58 is located slightly more than a kilometre away from Nakuru town making it an ideal hideout for the Asian community, most of whom drive the businesses in the town. The estate is also preferred by expatriates owing to its upmarket class yet affordable housing.

Rent prices

A five-bedroom maisonette rents out at between Sh20,000 and Sh30,000 per month while rent for a two-bedroom flat is between Sh12,000 and Sh20,000, all depending on how far the house is located from the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.

Most residents, however, bought plots and built their own homes. Today, one would have to spend a fortune to acquire a tiny piece of land.

"There is a shortage of land for sale in Section 58 and this has seen plot prices rise from Sh400,000 ten years ago to Sh1.8 million today," says Elizabeth Wambui of Magical Entreprises, a property management company in Nakuru. "However, there is an adjoining development next to the estate called Naku where an eighth of an acre is selling for about Sh800,000."