Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has revealed that the ongoing demolitions will soon shift focus to bringing down residential flats in Nairobi.
In a message sent out on Sunday morning, Sonko indicated that as a preemptive measure, the government will now bring down flats that are more than 5 storeys high and do not have elevators.
"Wananchi musikubali kuishi kwa flat ya more than 5 floors na hazina lift wala proper approvals za serikali. Nyumba aina hii zote zitaenda chini. (Citizens, do not reside in flats that are more than 5 floors tall and do not have lifts installed or that are not properly approved by the relevant authorities. These flats will be demolished), the governor warned.
[caption caption="The photo of a 7-floored apartment under construction that Sonko sent out"]
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"Pia musikubali watu wafanye biashara na maisha yenu especially wale mumerent nyumba/ flats karibu na mto (Also dont allow people to do bisiness by trading with your lives especially those who have rented houses near the river banks), Sonko cautioned.
According to the county boss, the government will no longer watch as innocent Kenyans fall victim to greedy investors and poor engineering works.
"Tumechoka kuzika watu innocent kila saa kutokana na uzembe wa engineers wa county na greedy landlords (We are tired of burying innocent people every now and then due to laxity of the county engineers and greedy landlords).
Warning of decisive intervention, to prevent disastrous incidents due to building collapse, Sonko warned: "This time round tunawapeleka jela before tupoteze maisha ya waKenya tena (This time around, we are going to jail them before we lose lives of Kenyans again)," he quipped.
The warning comes in the wake of ongoing demolitions targeting buildings sitting on riparian land as part of the Nairobi Regeneration Project that aims to restore the glory of the "City under the sun".
Governor Sonko on Friday stormed a showroom in Gigiri which sits on grabbed public land, declaring that it would henceforth act as a fire station.
During the dramatic incident, the county chief ordered three county fire engines to be immediately deployed and stationed at the location.
[caption caption="Governor Sonko when he stormed the showroom in Gigiri on Friday and declared it a firestation "]
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The owner of the showroom, Goreti Gichuru, pleaded with the Governor to allow them time to vacate the premises.
"Governor, I'm ready to obey the law, but we are humbly requesting for more time so that we can vacate this land," she asked.
