The Nairobi City County has announced the indefinite closure of the popular Habanos Lounge located along Kiambu Road following a string of complaints from area residents about excessive noise.
Nairobi County's Chief Officer for Environment, Geoffrey Mosiria, announced the closure on Wednesday, May 28, adding that the club would remain out of operation until adequate measures to mitigate the noise were enforced.
The closure followed numerous complaints obtained directly by Kenyans.co.ke, whereby area residents gave accounts of the noise they were consistently subjected to from the establishment.
"Habanos is not closed and continues to operate as usual, terrorising residents with their illegal noise," one resident revealed on Tuesday.
The fresh wave of complaints came after the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) ordered the closure of the lounge after it failed to comply with directives aimed at controlling noise emanating from the establishment.
Since the April 16 order, however, it appears the club did not heed the order, prompting the intervention of the county government. In his statement, Mosiria insisted the intention was not to disrupt business but to ensure everyone complied with the directives in place.
"As the county government, our objective is not to shut down businesses but rather to ensure that all establishments operate in an environmentally friendly and compliant manner, particularly in regard to noise pollution regulations," Mosiria said in a statement.
On the club's official social media, Habanos confirmed the developments, saying the closure was for 'maintenance'.
Mosiria has since confirmed that the management of the club has been informed by county environment experts on the specific steps required to ensure compliance, which include soundproofing the premises.
"Once these measures are fully implemented and verified, the business may be allowed to reopen," the Chief Officer for Environment added.
As far as the noisy entertainment joints are concerned, NEMA has been at the forefront of cracking down on such establishments, particularly those located at the heart of residential areas.
In March, the authority issued warnings to three nightclubs in Lavington, urging them to come up with effective noise mitigation strategies or risk similar enforcement actions.
Nightclubs are not the only establishments under NEMA's radar. The authority's Environmental Education director, Ayub Macharia, recently noted that laws would be enforced on churches if they were found to be operating beyond the required noise levels.
