Senators now want Sakaja's Pumwani-California rehabilitation project stopped

Senators have now threatened to suspend a multi-billion shilling project to rehabilitate the New Pumwani-California estate and 12 other council estates in Nairobi.

The lawmakers cited controversies surrounding the project saying officials of residents' associations in the respective estates had petitioned the Senate over it.

Roads, Transportation and Housing Committee chair Senator Karungo Thang'wa (Kiambu) said the officials claimed they were being threatened by county government staff.

Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute likened the programme to the controversial Buxton Housing Project in Mombasa where tenants were short-changed after 90 per cent of the units went to the developer with the county government left with only 10 per cent.

"Let us agree that the project should not continue until we deal with the contentious issues. If not, then the same fate that befell Buxton residents will happen to these people too," Chute said.

"After the experience of Buxton, we have resolved that all contracts between counties and private developers regarding any utilisation of public land should be made public," Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna said.

The residents of the New Pumwani-California estate had written a petition to the County Government of Nairobi requesting that the ownership of the houses be converted from a Social Housing Units to a Tenant Purchase Scheme for payment of mortgage for the houses but the petition had not been responded to.

The committee requested a response from the governor, to provide a copy of the agreement between the Israeli Government and the Government of Kenya for the construction of the estates through a Tenant Purchase Scheme.

The governor was expected to provide a copy of the report on the Urban Renewal Plan for Eastlands, a copy of development control guidelines for Eastlands, and the status of the response of the County Government to a Petition by residents of New Pumwani/California estate for conversion of social housing units to a Tenant Purchase Scheme.

In addition, the committee wants Sakaja to provide an explanation of the circumstances under which a contractor was given approval for redevelopment of the New Pumwani-California estate and then demolished Flat C-5 on 27 May 2023.

However, Sakaja failed to honour the sermons by the Senate leading to the governor being slapped with a Sh500,000 fine.

Senator Thang'wa revealed that the governor had been invited to appear before them since November last year but has been requesting postponements ever since.