Residents Oppose Construction of Highrise Buildings on Rhapta Road
A section of Rhapta Road residents Friday launched an association to champion the community’s rights including in the battle against illegal and unauthorized high-rise developments.
The residents said they suffered insecurity and water shortage in the area among others.
They formed the Rhapta Road Residents Association to fight for their rights.
They argued the current zoning classification of the area does not permit developments of more than 35 percent ground coverage and also restricts the number of floors in a building or the height.
“I live on Mkoko Close which is not even a murram road and opposite me there is a 17-storey building structure which is proposed to be built,” said Dr Raj Vaghella, a resident
“It was formerly the Kuwaiti Embassy property and apparently that property has been reverted by the Kuwaiti government back to the (Kenyan) government and now through dubious means the Chinese have bought the property and 400 apartments will be built there.”
The residents also decried water shortage, noise and water pollution which will be worse if more people move into the proposed high-rise buildings.
“We get water supply once a week, and these developers say they will be having boreholes. How long can the ground water supply be able to sustain unplanned structures being built up?”
“The authorities say the infrastructure will come afterwards, when will it even happen?” Dr. Vaghella asked.
Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai assured the frustrated residents that he has championed their cause in the county assembly.
“These people are building beacon to beacon, you can’t expand the roads. I gave a notice for the motion at the Nairobi City County Assembly that the Executive must develop a plan to deploy in phases an integrated transport management system,” said Alai.
The area is facing electricity supply problems and a spike in insecurity.
The residents say Rhapta Road has become an unsafe place due to increased theft, armed attacks and deaths attributed to accidents in the ongoing construction of high-rise buildings.
Another resident added: “There have been insecurity worries in terms of theft from people who have been walking down Rhapta Road by motorbike riders. There have been burglaries, armed attacks in the past, that’s been going on for several years but there seems to be an escalation in the risks at the moment and that’s why the Residents Association has been formed.”