The streets of Nairobi’s Maringo area are filled with anger and frustration as residents and business owners rally against the latest land-grabbing attempt in the area.
According to reports, rogue officials at the Nairobi County City Hall, and two Nairobi County Assembly Members (MCAs) alongside a businessman of Somali origin, “Mr Abdul” are believed to be behind the illegal takeover of a public parking space in Makadara constituency.
The land grabbers installed rental containers on the land, which was previously used as a parking space by the popular Hodi Hodi Bar and Grill.
The Deputy County Commissioner, David Wanyonyi, issued a 24-hour demolition notice on January 11, 2023, for the rental stalls that had been built on the disputed land.
Nairobi MCAs Collude With Somali Businessman to Grab Parking Space in Makadara
The notice went ignored, prompting the DCC to convene a meeting with the area MCA, Patrick Macharia, and the private developer who had spearheaded the construction of the structures.
Together, they took matters into their own hands and carried out the demolition of the illegal structures last Friday.
The owner of the bar and grill, Zablon Kibathi, had been at the forefront of opposing the development of the space, which was regularly used by his customers to park their vehicles.
However, in a shocking turn of events, the bar and grill was razed to the ground in an apparent act of retaliation for the demolition.
The proprietor of the Hodi Hodi, Kibathi, has expressed suspicion over the fierce inferno that started on the thatched roof of his establishment, which had been in the area for decades and was popular with the older folk.
Kibathi is currently pursuing the matter with the relevant authorities as he counts the losses worth millions of shillings due to the inferno at Maringo shopping center.
This comes a week after the Maringo Estate Residents Tenants Association (MERTA) also wrote a letter to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, lamenting over the same structures.
Those familiar with the incident, who spoke to our reporter, say the grabbing of the parcel has the backing of some strong and politically-connected persons, including at City Hall, who are unrelenting in their pursuit of the land.
This latest incident is just one of many examples of land-grabbing in Nairobi, with empty parcels of land in the city being grabbed by crooked private developers who then rush to illegally erect structures on them, unabated.
The residents of Maringo are demanding justice for this blatant injustice and for the perpetrators to be held accountable for their actions, saying they will not stand idly by as their community is taken over by those who seek to profit at the expense of the people.
