SEVERAL residents of National Housing Corporation estate in Nairobi West have vacated their homes while many others are scouting for new houses, two weeks after floods wrecked havoc in the area.
Those that have already moved, according to a spot check by the Star, were mostly occupants of houses on the ground floor which were submerged in water after a heavy downpour caused a nearby river to burst its banks, causing floods.
Nine three-bedroom apartments have so far been vacated as families fear recurrent floods after their property was damaged following heavy rains on May 12.
The estate's association secretary Emmanuel Naicca told the Star that residents have previously complained to NHC over poor workmanship and the recent incident was “a disaster in the waiting”.
“We have been having a tiff with NHC. It is not the first time it is flooding. Whenever there are rains there has always been a problem including the sewage system mixing with the drainage and coming up into houses through all openings,” said Naicca, who said he bought his house at Sh8.5 million in 2009.
This has raised safety and durability concerns of the housing project which NHC completed in 2009. The estate has 182 three-bedroom units which were sold for between Sh7.5 million to Sh8.5 million then.
NHC is estimated to have made more than Sh1.5 billion from sale of the houses. Majority of the apartments were occupied between 2009 and 2013.
Residents say they have tried to reach NHC to address drainage problems but the state company has not responded to their calls.
As a result, the residents have refused to have the houses handed over to them officially by the corporation.
“These houses were poorly done especially the drainage system. They came and dug a pit for a bio digester eight months ago but they left and have never come back. There is no guarantee from NHC or the county government that this problem is going to be solved,” said Naicca.
“We have refused them to hand over the houses until the outstanding issues are solved,” he added.
Apar Jain a tenant of an apartment on the ground floor of one of the estate's blocks said he lost property worth more than Sh600,000 because of the floods.
“It was around 10.30 pm. I was watching television when suddenly I saw water coming in through the kitchen door and the balcony. I could not save anything because within a short time the water had filled the house,” said Jain who was occupying a three-bedroom house at Block E 16 for a monthly rent of Sh60,000.
He has since shifted to an apartment on the fourth floor in another block within the same estate, a move that has compelled him to spend an extra Sh150,000 this month.
“I was forced to spend in a hotel and make arrangements to move into another house. I had paid rent up to July but that has just gone like that,” said Jain.
Jain who had set up a small office in his house, lost his computer, printers among other office equipment as well as personal documents due to the floods.
The floods have been blamed on poor building plans in the area which have affected the drainage.
Another concern by residents is an ongoing construction along Lang’ata road which they claim has blocked the Ngong River, which flows from Ngong and Kikuyu area, passing through Kibera, Nairobi Dam, Nairobi West, South C, South B, Industrial Area and onward through Eastlands up to Ruai.
The river crosses Mbagathi Road near Highrise estate, Langata Road near T-Mall, Nairobi West near Nairobi West Mall, Mombasa Road next to the ICC church and through to South B near Mater Hospital.
Apart from the perimeter wall around the construction, the contractor is also said to have narrowed the water passage and diverted the river's course..
“The overflows that clogged up Lang’ata road found their way into the estate. Water came in through the gate,” said Naicca.
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero last week visited the area after the disaster and stopped the construction of the building, which is said to be a hotel owned by a Member of Parliament.
However by yesterday, construction was still on at the site which is opposite T-mall near the Lang’ata-Nairobi West roundabout.
“It is hypocritical when Kidero says he has stopped the construction. We feel cheated. We have lost a lot. All our property was destroyed,” said another resident who however did not want his name to be mentioned.
Following the flooding disaster, the national government mobilised 10,000 National Youth Service members to unclog the drains around the city.
NHC had not responded to the Star's request for comment by the time of going to press.