Tourism Secretary Najib Balala. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Investors putting up warehouses at Syokimau on land located
between standard gauge railway (SGR) and Nairobi National Park are set
to incur huge losses after the government halted the developments.
Tourism
Secretary Najib Balala directed Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
director-general John Waweru to take possession of the land and erect a
perimeter fence around the property, reiterating it was government land.
State
agencies have in the past demolished estates and shanties in the area,
notably in 2011 when Kenya Airports Authority brought down mansions
worth hundreds of millions and structures encroaching on airport land.
Owners of the structures in Syokimau and nearby Kyangombe were never compensated.
“We
have noticed some people are putting up godowns on a 1.6 kilometre
stretch behind Syokimau train terminus on the western boundary of the
park. The director-general should investigate and give recommendations
on actions needed to remedy the situation,” he said.
The
godown investments come a year after Nairobi Inland Container Depot
that holds up to 450,000 20-feet containers was opened, creating new
businesses for private operators of container freight stations.
Mr Balala further directed investigations across all national
parks and reserves to safeguard wildlife sanctuaries for posterity.
“No
encroachment will be allowed into any wildlife sanctuary and any
attempt to tamper with designated boundaries will be dealt with firmly
as per the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013,” he said in a
statement.
The minister said the KWS had since been
posted on the site and the developers barred from accessing it to
collect building materials or continue with construction works.
Established in 1946, the park measures 117.2-kilometre square and is the only one in the world located next to a capital city.
In 2011, dozens of expensive middle-class homes on irregularly acquired land were bulldozed leaving many homeowners distraught.
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