Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has said that all buildings that were constructed or are under construction and have no proper approvals will be demolished.
In a statement to news rooms, Sonko said it’s unfortunate that seven primary school children had to die after their classroom caved in on Monday at Precious Talent School in Ngando area, Nairobi.
Sonko said this is not the first accident to occur in Nairobi and that he was greatly saddened by the demise of the school children.
Sonko said that following numerous complaints from land owners, property developers and the general public against the Nairobi City County Planning Department, he commissioned a comprehensive systems audit that exposed the activities of rogue officials.
He said the officials have been flouting the Physical Planning Act and zoning regulations with impunity, while running an extortion ring to provide building approvals that do not meet the set standards.
“Through the audit, I established that on more than one occasion, the rogue officers would switch off the digital system at City Hall to by- pass the official channel in issuing building approvals,” he said.
The Governor said that as a result, in August 2019, he suspended the County Chief Officer for Planning, Mr. Justus Kathenge, who was singled-out as the ring- leader of the unlawful and repugnant activities.
He added that Kathenge went ahead to lie to him that the system had been switched off by the World Bank when the audit commenced.
The World Bank refuted the claims since they had handed full access and control over the system to the Planning Department.
“On the same breadth, I also disbanded the entire Planning Committee that had been operating with impunity under Kathenge. It is important to note that I inherited Kathenge, and the entire Planning Committee from the previous administration. Unlike many Governors who replaced key personnel in critical departments, I extended my goodwill to them, which they abused,” he said.
Sonko added that the inspection and approval of primary and secondary schools falls under the Ministry of Education.
He however said this is not the right time to exchange blame, but to take responsibility as leaders.
He said he will work with the Ministry of Education and all relevant national government departments to ensure that such an incident will never recur.
“As your Governor, I wish to assure you all as residents of Nairobi that I will not leave any stone unturned, until we reverse the effects of the impunity that was spearheaded by the Planning Department,” he said.
Sonko said that City Hall will pursue the prosecution of any official who will be found culpable in these violations that have continued to cost human life, while endangering many more lives.
“I wish to assure the parents and the entire Precious Talent School community of my personal support, and that of my administration, in laying to rest our departed children, treating the injured and also reconstructing the school to ensure minimal interruption to learning at the institution,” he said.