Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko wants his Kiambu counterpart Ferdinand Waititu to keep off the capital’s issues, especially where ongoing demolitions are concerned.
He said this on Tuesday in response to Waititu’s view that demolitions are not the solution to the construction of structures in restricted areas.
Mr Waititu said he was unhappy with the ongoing demolition of buildings which President Kenyatta defended on Sunday. The Kiambu governor said the demolitions are not a solution and that they have caused huge losses which should not be allowed.
Via his Twitter and Facebook pages, Sonko asked Waititu to stop meddling with Nairobi matters and find the balance between their friendship and the management matter.
“My good friend and colleague should concentrate on his county. He should know we don’t mix friendship with work. Even Weston, my Buruburu Casurina coco beach plot, Taj Mall and many other buildings shall not be spared if found to be on riparian or public land,” Sonko wrote.
My good friend & colleague should concentrate on his county. He should know we don’t mix friendship with work. Even Weston, my Buru buru Casurina cocobeach plot, Taj Mall & many other buildings shall not be spared if found to be on riparian or public land.https://t.co/YKI0fWaijB pic.twitter.com/ijSnW7dMS1
— Mike Sonko (@MikeSonko) August 14, 2018
In a widely shared video clip, Waititu asks the government to divert rivers instead of tearing down buildings. He says the owners of the buildings should bear the costs.
“Some of the things I am witnessing there (in Nairobi), I am not supporting [them]. If your house is near a river, you should be told to move that river away from the building at [your] own cost. Demolishing houses is not a solution. Honestly speaking, it’s such a big loss,” Mr Waititu said.
Some of the buildings that have been brought down include Southend Mall on Lang’ata Road and Ukay Centre in Westlands.
Members of the public have continued putting the government on the spot by pushing for the demolition of those that are still standing.
Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the operation must continue and that officers who approved the construction must be punished.
We will continue to demolish properties constructed on riparian lands, equally punish officials who made approvals for those properties. We are doing everything to discourage corruption. It is possible to do clean business in Kenya, this is what we want to encourage. pic.twitter.com/MPsrTJw4wj
— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) August 9, 2018
“We shall go after all those who issued illegal permits, be they county or national government officials. All those who gave the permits will be prosecuted,” he said.
The president also revealed that he had lost many friends due to the ongoing war on corruption but he is ready to lose even more.
“Over the last few weeks, I have lost very many friends. Because I have been receiving very many calls (of people asking me), how can you sit down and watch all these destructions (demolitions) going on. You must stop it. And I said, well, it’s difficult to stop. It’s difficult to stop, not because we love to destroy, but because we must fight impunity because if we fail to fight impunity, we will not achieve our dreams,” said President Kenyatta.
Demolitions have not taken place this week to allow the clearing of sites where structures were torn down.