Six residents from different parts of the city have moved to court seeking to stop the state from constructing affordable housing units on the Nairobi River Basin.
The six alongside Kituo Che Sheria also want the court bar the government from interfering with the land titles held by residents, pending the hearing and determination of the application.
They are on behalf of residents of Kangemi Central Ward – Kangora Location in Westlands Constituency, the Riruta Muslim Community in Dagoretti North Constituency, and residents of Kabiro Ward.
In a petition filed at the Milimani Law Courts, the residents argue that on March 6, 2025, the Nairobi City County Executive Committee Member for Built Environment and Urban Planning issued a notice of intention to declare the Nairobi River Corridor a Special Planning Area (SPA) under Section 52 of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019.
It is their argument that the notice is unlawful, alleging that it seeks to extend the jurisdiction of the Nairobi City County beyond its legal boundaries. They further claim that since the public participation period provided in the notice has already lapsed, the County is on the verge of designating the corridor as an SPA, which would effectively halt any further development on their properties without due process, thus violating their constitutional right to fair administrative action under Article 47.
They want the court to stop government from evicting them, constructing affordable housing units on the Nairobi River Basin, or interfering with their title deeds.
According to court papers, they are lawful residents and registered freehold proprietors of parcels of land within the Nairobi River Corridor, and that the proposed SPA designation exposes them to arbitrary eviction and uncompensated loss of property.
They have told court that already the National Youth Service (NYS) personnel have been deployed along the Nairobi River Corridor, allegedly for cleaning and environmental restoration efforts.
However, the petitioners claim these activities have included uprooting crops and vegetation they planted along the riverbanks without prior notice, consultation, or explanation.
“The actions by NYS personnel have not only caused direct economic losses to the Petitioners but have also destabilized the soil structure, leading to visible widening of the riverbanks and encroachment onto private land,” the petition reads.
