City dwellers oppose NMS plan to upgrade Lumumba estate

Residents of Lumumba estate in Nairobi have opposed the Nairobi Metropolitan Services’ (NMS) planned construction of affordable houses in the area, arguing that the existing homes are already affordable.

During a stormy public participation forum convened by the NMS last Tuesday, the residents said the planned demolition of existing houses to pave way for construction of affordable high-rises was unnecessary since rents for the current houses were reasonable.

“Tenants have been paying Sh3,000 worth of rents, inclusive of water and electricity. Let the NMS build houses elsewhere,” Harambee Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Antony Kimemia told the forum.

“Lumumba estate should be spared as a historical museum where Kenyan great leaders in public and private sector, trade union movement lived before rising to fame.”

The NMS was instead asked to give the dilapidated houses a fresh coat of paint, fix broken and neglected sewer system, and connect households with water and electricity.

The residents also demanded to know why estates such as Makongeni, Shauri Moyo, Uhuru and Kaloleni were left out of the plan yet they were initially primed for phase two of Nairobi Housing Urban Renewal programme.

They also questioned the NMS’ rush to upgrade the houses by August yet the original plan was to inaugurate the project in 2026.

Some of the residents sought to know the fate of tenants should they sign an agreement with the NMS whose tenure expires next year.

The NMS has identified 10 old County Government estates that will be demolished to free up land for the construction of 62,000 affordable housing units. These include Embakasi, Woodley, Kariobangi North, Bahati, Ziwani, California, Jericho, Maringo, Lumumba, and Bondeni.

READ: City investors called up for 62,000-unit homes project

Most of these estates are characterised by dilapidated low-rise houses that sit on huge chunks of land.

In Bahati Estate, 12,000 three-, two- and one-bedroom units will be built in multi-storey buildings of between six and 16 floors sitting on 20 hectares of land.

Some 10,000 units will be built in Lumumba; 8,000 in Maringo; 6,000 in Woodley; 4,782 in Ziwani; 4,000 units in Embakasi; 2,500 in California; 1,500 in Kariobangi North; and 774 in Bondeni.

According to the plan, existing tenants will be shifted to new one- and two-bedroom houses that will cost Sh1 million to Sh3 million.

Early last month, the NMS called for expression of interest (EOI) from investors in the banking industry, pension schemes, and real estate sector for JV partnerships in the project.

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