Uhuru now goes after officials who approved construction of demolished buildings
With demolition of buildings put up on riparian lands going on in Nairobi, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said officials who made approvals for the premises to be built on such lands will be punished.
The president spoke on Thursday during the inauguration of the Prism Towers on Third Ngong Avenue, Nairobi.
“We are not going to just punish those who built. I want to assure you that we are going after all those who issued those permits. Those ones will be prosecuted. Be they county officials, land officials or Nema officials, they will be prosecuted because they are equally to fault as those who built,” President Kenyatta said.
We will continue to demolish properties constructed on riparian lands, equally punish officials who made approvals for those properties. We are doing everything to discourage corruption. It is possible to do clean business in Kenya, this is what we want to encourage. pic.twitter.com/MPsrTJw4wj
— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) August 9, 2018
The President blamed the construction of building along the riverbeds for causing floods in Nairobi during rainy seasons.
The President’s sentiments came after Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko said he is ready to be a one-term governor but ensure that Nairobi regains its glory.
RELATED STORY:
Sonko: Demolitions in Nairobi will continue, my own property included
However, majority of the owners of the demolished properties have cried foul saying that they have proper documentation including approval from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
The demolitions started on Monday as Nema set out to reclaim illegally occupied wetlands in the city.
The demolition exercise targets around 4,000 properties on either riparian or grabbed lands.