Why Kenyans are Divided Over the Demolition of Ukay Mall

Kenyans have moved to social media to express their opinions over the ongoing demolition of Ukay Mall in Westlands.

Whereas most Kenyans support the government’s move to reclaim riparian land, a section believe the authorities carrying out the demolition are the same ones that approved the construction of the same buildings and therefore should also be held accountable for their actions.

 

Barrack Elauna, said that the government should compensate the owners of the buildings being brought down since they were approved by more than three agencies.

According to Ukay management, the building is not put up on a river but sits 10 metres from a canalised stream. The building manager, Veeral Shah, said they adhered to all the requirements when putting up the building. Owners of the centre earlier asked the court to stop the destruction of the property worth Sh900 million.

In Parliament yesterday Ukay Centre produced letters from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) and the Water Resources Authority (WRA) approving construction near River Kibarage.

Mr. Shah tabled the approval documents before the National Assembly’s Environment Committee. He said he had heard rumours on social media that his  investment could be demolished. Buildings near River Kibarage were reportedly earmarked for demolition, with the owners saying that tenants had started moving out for fear of losing their businesses.

Officers from NEMA and WRA could not explain how they cleared construction from the building. The building had more than 40 tenants who were estimated to have employed more than 300 people. This means that we have now added them to the bulging number of unemployed Kenyans.

NEMA has also been thrown into the limelight after it emerged that demolition of the Southend Mall in Langata which began on Wednesday has stalled due to lack of fuel for the bulldozers and trucks. It has been revealed that the authorities are contemplating using explosives to finish the job.

Southend mall, which was owned by former Bobasi MP Stephen Manoti  had been constructed on Ngong River and was blamed for causing floodings in South C, Nairobi West and the entire Langata area.

Time to Conserve the Environment

But majority of Kenyans have agreed that the buildings on Riparian land have to be brought down for the better good. The name of the Late Environmentalist Prof. Wangari Mathai was heavily mentioned with people saying that she should know Kenyans have understood the value of conserving mother nature.

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