The construction of an ultra-modern district headquarters and market in the Eastlands section of Nairobi hangs in the balance after the 83-acre piece of land on which they were to be built was allocated and sold by prominent politicians.

The politicians and their associates also allocated, then 'sold' adjacent residential and commercial plots that had earlier been allocated to Nairobi City Council employees.

The plot bearing land registration L.R No.209/14311 off Kangundo Road-also referred to as KCC Village-on which a fire station, library, hospital, law courts, Nairobi District offices, post office, police station, car park and wholesale horticulture market were to be built, has been allocated, sub-divided into 1,000 plots and 'sold' by a former legislator, three former mayors, a deputy mayor, a businesswoman, some city councillors and City Hall chief officers.

But Director of City Planning Peter Kibinda insists that those purporting to be selling or allocating plots in the area are doing so without the council's approval.

Approved a project

The Kenyan Government, its German counterpart and the German state-owned development bank Kreiditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KFW) conducted a feasibility study in late 2000 and approved a project in which the market, police station, fire station, district offices and a post office would have been built.

The German bank had indicated that it would provide the funding to build the market, park, fire station and post office.

This would have enabled the City Council to relocate Wakulima Market (Marigiti) from the city centre to Eastlands. However, the market project has since stalled because of the council's failure to revoke the illegal allocations and clear the land for the market's construction.

At its 14th annual general meeting in July 2003, the Kenya Community Abroad had also identified the same piece of land for the construction of a Sh762 million market and a biomass processing plant to have been completed in 2005. But Nairobi City Council never acknowledged their request for information.

However, the entire 83 acres were subsequently allocated by a former MP, three former mayors and some councillors who have sold them to unsuspecting buyers.

Although the Directorate of City Planning has issued several enforcement letters, including the latest dated April 11, 2008, ordering the demolition of the structures, this has not been carried out.

The enforcement notice addressed to owner/developer KCC informal settlement off Kangundo Road says that the owner is required to remove the illegally constructed temporary structures by April 12, 2008 because they are in contravention of Physical Planning Act Cap 286 Section 30(1) and City Council by-laws Cap 265.

The Sunday Nation, however, has established that the occupiers of the plots are constructing permanent structures in complete defiance of the city council's enforcement notice.

Guilty of an offence

This is despite a cautionary paragraph within the notice that warns that "any person who uses or causes or permits to be used the land to which the notice relates or carries out or causes or permits to be carried out operations on the said land in contravention of the notice shall be guilty of an offence provided for in Section 30 of the Act."

However, one of the former mayors has even finished building a guesthouse across the road from his bar and restaurant on Outer Ring Road.

According to a General Purposes Committee meeting held May 14, 2003, acting Director of City Planning J.S. Kigare observed that because part of the land had already been occupied by squatters, 33 acres were alienated and allocated to them.

It was later observed that the 33 acres actually had been allocated by people other than the intended squatters, and the councillors resolved that the allocations be revoked and the entire 83 acres repossessed and reserved for the market project.

However, Mr Kigare indicated that the remaining 50-acre piece of land was big enough for the construction of the market.

A subsequent partial development plan map by registered physical planner P.S. Adolwa allocated 1 hectare (2.47 acres) for the Nairobi District Hospital, 0.5 hectare (1.235 acres) for the police station, 0.4 hectare (1 acre) for the Eastlands fire station, 0.4 hectares (1 acre) for the law courts, 0.2 hectare (1/2-acre) for a library, 0.2 hectare (1/2-acre) for the post office, and 0.6 hectare (1.5 acres) for a car park.

Thirteen hectares were set aside for the market while another section was subdivided into commercial and residential plots for city council employees.

The final partial development plan was forwarded by then acting director of City Planning P.S. Odongo.

All these plans have, however, hit a snag after the politicians and a gang of men took over the land which is now being sold illegally.

The cartel, which allegedly includes senior City Hall chief officers, is selling small parcels of the land for stalls at between Sh20,000 and Sh60,000.

The cartel is ignoring the official City Hall allocations and is instead dispossessing previous recipients and issuing their own allotment letters.

Several people who bought parcels of land from City Council employees have since been evicted by the gang of youth who are now selling them off.

Police suspect that the cartel was responsible for burning down the Nairobi City Council's Eastlands Survey Office to destroy the survey and land allocation records.

And in the latest twist, a group calling itself Kariobangi South Ward Leaders has joined in to demand a three-quarters share of the total acreage for residents of Kariobangi South.

The nine-man group led by chairman Joseph Waweru called a meeting on February 4, 2008 to demand part of the land, claiming that Kariobangi South residents who live next to the land in question have not benefited from it.

"We have facts that the said market was allocated 21 acres as per City Council minutes taken in 2003. We have fought for the same for the last 18 years since the year 1988.

"We know the same acreage has been sub-divided into a total of 1,000 plots. We as Kariobangi South residents have not benefited from the said project. We therefore demand a three-quarters share of the total acreage to our Kariobangi residents," reads a letter sent by the group to the area councillor William Kinyanyi and to Kariobangi South Chief, a Mr King'ori.

City planning director Kibinda, however, insists that the council considers all the alleged allocations by the former mayors and the former legislator, the late David Mwenje, as invasions of its land says all structures will be demolished.

"All these are invasions of Council land and come rain or shine, we are going to demolish them. We have already issued an enforcement notice to them. During the opening of the Muthurwa market, President Kibaki said that more markets will be built, and one of the markets will be constructed on the 21-acre piece of land. The commitment is still there," Mr Kibinda said.

He said that those purporting to be selling land in the area are con men and warned prospective buyers to exercise caution. He said suspected members of Mungiki sect who had occupied part of the Kariobangi riverbank land that was allocated to middle cadre City Council staff in the early 1990s will also be evicted.

"We are aware that they grabbed the Kariobangi riverbank land that was allocated to middle cadre council employees, but we will evict them. They sneak there and construct buildings on weekends when our staff are resting," he said.

Mr Kibinda said the German government that had wanted to build the district offices and other facilities on the 83 acres eventually gave up after the Kenyan Government failed to take up the offer.

He said the council later entered into partnership with the German government to develop a wholesale market on a 100-acre parcel of land.

"We went to the same land for the construction of the wholesale market, and it was even approved by the council. In fact, we even forgot about the district centre. But in the mid-1990s this country was a pariah in terms of donor funding. So that project collapsed," Mr Kibinda said.

But then some 530 squatters settled on the land, forcing the council to carry out a survey at night to establish the genuine squatters and settle them there. The council did this and issued allotment letters that were formalised by a council minute. What remained there, he said, is what were to be community facilities to avoid encroachment by other squatters.

Part of the land was set aside for other clients and part for the wholesale market, and those 21 acres were also formalised.

Mr Kibinda said that during last December's election campaigns, groups started forming and occupied the area, and because it was a "sensitive" time, the council did not move in to evict them.

"We will bring all the structures down come rain or shine because they have not been approved. The council knows what is taking place, but this has not been sanctioned by it," he said.

He said the district administration centre has now been moved to Dandora between Umoja II and the Komarock Housing Finance Corporation of Kenya project where a signboard has already been erected.

A Chinese government-sponsored hospital is also due to be built in the same area.