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How Nairobi estates acquired their names – PART 2


From its leafy suburbs to the informal settlements, it is surprising how Nairobi’s estates derived their identity from white settlers or a corruption of names that were used by the Maasai community before the advent of colonialism.

In our second part of the story behind the names of some of the city estates, were trace the history of Embakasi, Nyayo estate, Eastleigh, Karen and Ofafa Jericho.

1. Embakasi It first started of as Embakasi Village in the 1950s as the location of the infamous Embakasi Prison, nicknamed “Satan’s Paradise”, one of the most notorious prisons during the State of Emergency imposed by the British Colonial government at the time.

The Mau Mau suspects detained in the prison were forced to construct Embakasi Airport between 1954 and 1958. The airport was later renamed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

2. Nyayo Estate  This small subdivision of Embakasi was built near Embakasi Village during the Moi era in the late 1990s to cater for middle class home owners. It is believed that the estate coined its name from the then President Moi’s catchphrase “Harambee… Nyayo!” hence the name Nyayo estate.

Apartments in Nairobi's Nyayo estate in Embakasi. FILE PHOTO
Apartments in Nairobi’s Nyayo estate in Embakasi. FILE PHOTO

3. Eastleigh – Commonly known as the little Mogadishu, Eastleigh started out as the residential area for Asians and elite Africans at the time. Eastleigh has since evolved into a major commercial hub, a city within a city.

The Moi Air Base, formerly known as RAF Eastleigh, a military base with a small airport, is located in Eastleigh. The name “RAF Eastleigh” was also used during 1935 for the airfield in England that became RAF Southampton in 1936.

Due to Kenyans colonization by the British some of its official are said to have been using the airstrip coming from England Eastleigh in Hampshire – hence the name Eastleigh was easily coined to refer to the neighbourhood.

A busy street in Nairobi's Eastleigh estate. FILE PHOTO
A busy street in Nairobi’s Eastleigh estate. FILE PHOTO

Eastleigh was the primary RAF station for East Africa, and home to Air Headquarters East Africa after force reductions in the 1950s.

Eastleigh also operated as a civilian airport with airlines such as BOAC, EAA, etc operating flights until the opening of Embakasi Airport (now Jomo Kenyatta International) nearby in 1958.

However, because of its high elevation and short runways (which could not be extended because of its location close to the city), from the arrival of No. 208 Squadron RAF in the late 1950s with its Hawker Hunters, jet fighters and bombers had to operate from the nearby Embakasi Airport (the present day JKIA).

4. Karen – Is an affluent suburb of Nairobi, lying south west of the city centre. It is generally believed that the suburb is named after Karen Blixen, the Danish author of the colonial memoir Out of Africa. Her farm occupied the land where the suburb now stands.

Blixen herself declared in her later writings that “the residential district of Karen” was “named after me”. And Remy Martin, the developer who bought the farm in 1931 and converted it into residential plots for Nairobi’s fast-growing population, confirmed that he named the neighborhood after Blixen.

The putting green at the Karen Country Club, a world class golf club within the Karen suburb in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO
The putting green at the Karen Country Club, a world class golf club within the Karen suburb in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO

5. Ofafa Jericho The “estate where the devil lives” is one of the various names that Ofafa Jericho has been nicknamed over the years. But its real name is in reference to the city of Jericho whose Biblical meaning is the moon city. However, it is not clear why an estate that is infamous for crime and other social ills ended up being called Jericho.