I will not Succumb to your threats, Blackmail-Sakaja Warns Cartels
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has put land grabbers on notice saying he will not fall for blackmail and threats by city Hall cartels.
Sakaja said he is ready to protect the property and money of Nairobians.
His remarks comes two days after demolition of Airbase Member of County Assembly’s building on land that had been grabbed and the ongoing investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations(DCI) over alleged payment to companies that did not offer service to the County.
“We have no time for land grabbers. On Thursday I demolished a two storey house that was being built on grabbed land and ironically by an MCA. The MCA was building his office when the said land was supposed to have a hospital,” Sakaja stated.
“We will not take that anymore and we are going to be firm because we fear no one including those using them politically. We only fear Nairobians who trusted us with leadership,” he added.
The governor has assured Nairobians that systems are in place to ensure their property and money is secured asking them to trust his administration.
According to Sakaja, there is a category of people who are not happy with the calmness and progress being experienced in the city and that’s why they are trying to bring disturbance.
“For one year Nairobi has been very calm and we are closely working together both as Azimuo and Kenya Kwanza which has never happened before. There are people who are not happy by this and have begun their politics,” he said.
“Those who are used to stealing in Nairobi, Nairobians are not fools. They are now begaving like pickpockets who run and start pointing at others accusing them of theft. We know their ways and have closed loopholes for such including land grabbers,” he added.
On Friday Nairobi City County reclaimed a piece of land allegedly grabbed by Eastleigh Airbase Member of County Assembly.
In a statement by the county, they indicated that the building of the two storey house had proceeded despite opposition from environmentalists and county health center management.
The building which was incomplete was demolished under tight security provided by a heavy police contingent to avoid looting of the salvaged property.
Eastleigh residents praised the demolition as Governor Sakaja moved to reposes the health center grabbed by Airbase MCA Fuad Hussein.
According to investigations, Fuad grabbed the hospital premises after duping the management that he was putting up a ward MCA’s office only to start erecting a multi storey commercial building.
Documents seen by People daily indicate that on 22nd December 2022, Dr. Etole wrote to Mosiria the Health Facilities Chief Officer in the Nairobi County Government reporting that there had been an unauthorized demolition and construction of a building at the health facility in Eastleigh.
The sub county medical officer reported that the facility housed the offices of the ward administrator and the Eastleigh Airbase MCA had requested to set up his office at the facility. However, during the Christmas holidays, the MCA accessed the building and demolished it leaving residents with no health center.
Residents say the the demolition was a step in the right direction calling on the county government to ensure that land grabbers have no space to take over public property.
Hassan Muhammad, the Secretary General of the Eastleigh Airbase Residence Lobby group in a letter dated 20th December, 2022 to the then Nairobi County Secretary Jairus Musumba raised the red flag after information that the area MCA Fuad Hassan’s intentions to grab the health center land and build a commercial property in the guise of constructing an office for his roles as area MCA.
The county government’s director in charge of planning compliance and enforcement on 21st July, 2023 under the Physical planning and land use act directed the developers of the construction to demolish the building, after which the county government moved to bring down the building for the offence of construction without county approval.
In a separate incident, Fuad is in record calling a Nairobi county planning officer to issue threats following a letter that had been written to sanction the MCA overland grabbing.
The MCA was heard urturing unprintable insults to the officer and issuing threats to bodily harm on the officer.
When reached for a reply on the demolition of the building Faud said:
“There is no way Governor Sakaja is taking the beef to the ground. My main aim is to do the oversight and we have to keep it intact in the county expenditure. If he thinks that he can silence me, he is very wrong! I won’t be ridiculed. I will expose your impunity until the last minute,” he said.
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