The Mombasa County government has commenced a
crackdown on illegal buildings to
avoid tragedies like the Jomvu wall
that killed eight people on Monday.
The administration is pulling down perimeter walls that did not get approvals or never followed the approved plans.
Mombasa County Director of Physical Planning Paul Manyala on Tuesday said the exercise started in Utange and will continue indefinitely.
“Rogue developers who insist on constructing buildings and other things without approval from the county, your days are numbered,” he said.
He said the county issues approvals to regulate the construction of buildings and to ensure they meet the required safety standards.
Eight people in KCC village in Vikobani, Miritini, in Jomvu subcounty died after an 18-course perimeter wall collapsed on nine mourners at a funeral who were sheltering from downpour by leaning against the wall.
Manyala said the collapsed Kenya United Steel Company wall was not constructed in a proper way and had no approval.
“There was poor workmanship. If you look at the remaining part of the wall, it does not look stable,” he said. He ordered the wall pulled down immediately as posed danger to villagers and passersby.
Manyala said the priority was to ensure the safety of the remaining villagers but legal action against the steel company will be taken.
Evans Wafula, the company’s representative, received the demolition order. “That is why we have embarked on an operation to prevent such tragedies,” Manyala noted.
He said in Utange, developers have constructed walls and buildings on waterways thus preventing storm water from getting into the sea as designed.
This causes heavy flooding whenever there are slight rains, turning the county into one big lake. “As we speak, storm water gets into people’s houses because of this problem where drainages are blocked by unscrupulous developers,” he said.
Manyala is determined to rid the county of all illegally constructed buildlings. “This is a warning to developers. Just start pulling down those unapproved buildings before we get to you.”
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir warned there will be no mercy for any irregularities in the construction industry in the county going forward.
Nassir said the county government strived to repair the drainage
system in Mombasa and now storm
waters have their own ways they follow without causing much damage.
