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Homeowners at Seefar apartments in Nairobi can now breath a sigh of relief, at least for a while, after MPs in the Environment Committee postponed the demolition of the complex.
The MPs put the exercise on hold until a report being prepared by a multi-agency technical team relating to the safety of the Nairobi dam is concluded.
It is reported that the Parliamentary Environment Committee declared that the demolitions were also against the spirit of development in relation to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big 4 agenda on affordable housing.
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A photo of Nairobi Dam with Seefar Apartments in the background
Kereke Mbiuki, who is the committee’s chair, asked the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Water Resources Authority (WRA) not to demolish the houses until the report was tabled before his committee.
“The notices of demolition issued by NEMA and WRA are wanting since the same entities gave approvals for the construction of the apartments. The doublespeak by the government agencies is scaring away investors,” reads the report.
Problems for the homeowners began in October 2018, when WRA presented Ederman properties, who are the property managers of the apartments, with a 14-day demolition notice.
The apartments are located at the Nyayo Highrise estate along Mbagathi Way and cover a space of 31,000 square feet next to the Nairobi Dam.
The MPs also added that it was important to first understand who would compensate the homeowners if it came to the actual demolition.
This decision was arrived at after it emerged that most of the residents were servicing mortgages they used to acquire the units.
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Chairman of the Parliamentary Environment Committee Kareke Mbiuki speaks to the press in a past event