City Hall cracks down on Illegal billboards, seeks Sh500 million in unpaid fees
Chief Officer for Urban Development and Planning Patrick Analo Akivaga in Wednewday said the county is owed over Sh500 million by various advertising companies.
City Hall has begun a large-scale crackdown on outdoor advertising firms that owe the county unpaid fees or have put up billboards without approval.
The operation, ordered by the County Executive Committee Member for Built Environment and Urban Planning, Patrick Mbodo, will focus on major roads, including James Gichuru, Olenguruone, and Kingara.
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Chief Officer for Urban Development and Planning Patrick Analo Akivaga in Wednewday said the county is owed over Sh500 million by various advertising companies.
This money, which is paid to the companies by private clients, should have been remitted to the county as advertising fees.
“Some of these companies have not only failed to remit what is owed but have also erected illegal billboards and cut down trees in the process,” Analo said.
He added that enforcement teams will continue the operation until full compliance is achieved. All unapproved billboards and outdoor structures will be removed, and defaulters will face prosecution in line with county laws.
The crackdown is part of a wider City Hall effort to recover lost revenue and maintain order in Nairobi’s fast-growing commercial areas.
In parallel, the Department of Planning has launched a regularisation programme to address thousands of unauthorised developments across the city.
The exercise, guided by the Nairobi City County Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Act, 2025, allows property owners, developers, investors, and land-buying firms with unapproved structures to apply for official approvals.
Analo explained that the programme aims to legalise developments built without permits, provided they meet minimum safety and planning standards.
“To ensure transparency, the county government will publish notices of unauthorised developments in at least two national newspapers,” he said.
The regularisation will cover subdivisions, extensions, change of use, structural works, wall wraps, LEDs, billboards, and even informal settlements on private land.
Analo also noted that the county aims to resolve long-standing land and planning disputes that have affected orderly growth in neighbourhoods such as Ruai, Kasarani, Mwiki, Roysambu, and parts of Embakasi, where conflicts between land-buying companies, squatters, and government allocations have stalled development.
Projects that fail to meet the county’s standards will face action under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019.
Unregulated outdoor advertising has been a persistent challenge for Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration.
Earlier this year, City Hall conducted multiple enforcement operations, including a January drive that saw unauthorised signs removed from the Central Business District.
Governor Sakaja has repeatedly stressed that all advertising and development in Nairobi must follow county regulations, noting that order and accountability are central to the capital’s modernisation agenda.
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