The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday issued a seven-day ultimatum to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to clarify the re-zoning of Nairobi City.
The ultimatum was issued after the governor was accused of failing to respond to an individual who sought his clarity on the matter.
A resident of Nairobi allegedly requested information from the Governor on February 6, 2024, relating to the new proposed rule allowing the construction of buildings up to 75 floors in some areas.
In the February notice to the governor, Sakaja was requested to provide details on when the decision was reached and why he opted for such a rule.
The resident also sought information on people who did the re-zoning and whether the new control guidelines were submitted to the County Assembly for review and public participation.
Sakaja was also approached to clarify whether the control guidelines conflicted with the Nairobi City Integrated Urban Master Plan of 2014.
Other issues demanded from the governor included the number of buildings approved outside the previous control guidelines.
However, the governor's failure to respond to the information within the statutory timelines thus prompted the Nairobi resident to seek the Commission's intervention on March 20.
The Commission took up the matter on April 2 and requested the Governor to respond to the request within seven days but the governor allegedly declined to respond.
Sakaja's failure to respond triggered the commission to issue a seven-day ultimatum.
The commission's move comes amidst controversy over the Nairobi County government's decision to allow the construction of apartments with up to 75 floors in some Nairobi areas.
Sakaja while commenting on the proposal noted building height restrictions in some parts of the city have already been removed.
However, a section of Nairobi residents opposed the move claiming it would cause population imbalance and increase pollution within the city.
