No high-rise buildings near Moi Airbase- Ruto says, contradicting earlier statement

The laws governing the construction of buildings near Moi Airbase in Eastleigh remain in effect despite an earlier public declaration by President William Ruto and County leaders that they would change the laws to accommodate the sprawling population around the military establishment.

Speaking while attending Kenya Air Force's Jubilee celebrations on Saturday, President Ruto said no unauthorised high-rise building will be allowed around the Airbase, retracting an earlier pronouncement that he made in April allowing up to 30-storey buildings in Eastleigh which raised concern over the security of the Airbase that serves as the Headquarters to the Kenya Air Force.

It also came after Eastleigh Member of County Assembly Nicholas Odhiambo appealed to the government to relocate Moi Air Base in Kamukunji Constituency to facilitate expansion.

Odhiambo argued that the Moi Air Base is affecting the development plans for businesses in the area owing to the burgeoning population.

The president, however, on Saturday said the national government will engage the leadership of the County Government of Nairobi to ensure Eastleigh Air Base does not lose its position.

"In partnership with the county government of Nairobi, the government will ensure that Nairobi's Moi Airbase doesn't lose its position, and all developers must adhere to the standards agreed upon by the Kenya Air Force and Kenya Defence Forces," he said.

On his part, Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja, who had also previously said high-rise buildings would be allowed to meet the growing demand for housing in the area, retracted his statement, saying only changes to land use in the Airbase will inform changes in buildings around the area.

"There's been no change in building rules. If that has to change, there has to be public participation," said Sakaja after the event.

He added that the National government, KDF and the county have agreed to retain the rules governing construction around the area.

However, the governor pointed out a particular building that seems to be going against the rules, whose owner, he said, shall be issued with a notice for demolition on Monday.

The building, according to the governor, has affected the operations of one of the base's runways.

"We are sending a team from the inspectorate on Monday to assess that building and if some floors will have to come down that will be it. Luckily, this is not a building that is occupied, it's still under construction," he said

The developer will also be prosecuted for going against set laws at the City Court.

According to the county chief, buildings coming up around the Airbase must align with the restrictions of the Nairobi County masterplan that was established in 1976.

"For a long time, we have not been updating the masterplan. The last Masterplan of Nairobi County was done in 1976, meaning a lot of restrictions do not take into account the changes that have occurred in the 1990s and 2000s.

"The issue about Moi Airbase is something we have been discussing for a long time, even when I was at the Senate. A lot of urban planners were asking whether the base was still serving its original purpose which was evacuating VVIPs. But when you look at the area around it, there is Kiambiu slums, Mathare and the whole of Eastleigh."

The discussions, however, according to Sakaja, ended when the late General Francis Ogolla appealed to the President to preserve the base as is.

"We then met and agreed to that and have never lifted the restrictions. We have never given anyone permits to construct 30 or 20 storeys and even when we said the buildings have to go up, it was a proposal. Any changes have to go through public participation, " Sakaja added.

The Airbase is estimated to be hundreds of acres and worth more than Sh80 billion, according to the governor.

He confessed that as a leader, he sometimes feels compelled to nudge the military to release some part of the base to locals who are squeezed in the neighbouring slums.

Earlier, he said the county got some 70 acres from the military which is the current location of Kiambiu slums, but he wants a bit more where he can do some housing units for the people of Mathare and the surrounding area.

"In fact today, I was joking with the General and asking him if he could open up this place on Saturday and Sunday for Mathare residents to come for picnics because it has such nice green spaces, including a golf course in the middle of the city," he said.

He further noted that the economic activities in Eastleigh have necessitated a construction boom that is driving the need for high-rise buildings which is understandable but until there are changes in the Airbase land use, the buildings will be built as guided by law.

"We need to ensure that planes can still land safely and that the flight path is not affected," he said.

The law allows the area around the airbase to have four floors only and up to a maximum of 15 as you go further away from the base and 20 as you get to Starehe and the outskirts of Kamukunji.

"It is the angle of take-off and landing that determines the restrictions. The further the height of the angle, the higher the building can go, as long you don't interfere with take-off and landing," he explained.