Anxiety as NMS reveals plans to move Grogan mechanics to Thika Road land

Tobias Odhiambo’s face suddenly contorts, his gaze forlorn.

He knows too well the attendant challenges that come with relocating from an established place of business.

The fears are even more profound for those in the informal sector with no guaranteed cheque at the end of every month.

Odhiambo has been a mechanic in Nairobi for the last 30 years and he has seen it all.

From Kijabe Road to Nyayo Market and then to Grogan – or simply Grogon – on Kirinyaga Road, it has been an odyssey since he embarked on life as a mechanic in 1991.

The 46-year-old began his journey as a mechanic specialising in wiring in Nairobi as a 16-year-old after landing in the capital city from upcountry.

“When I joined this trade, we were stationed on Kijabe Road. We stayed there for three years. Then in 1994 we were moved to Nyayo Market in Ngara, staying there for two years,” he recalls.

In 1996, the mechanics would again be relocated from Nyayo Market to their current base in Grogan.

Grogan covers Kirinyaga Road, Lower Kirinyaga Road and off Lower Kirinyaga Road, stretching across from the Globe Roundabout to Riverside in Ngara.

“During the relocations, we lost a lot of customers and it took us time to regain our foothold. It is very destabilising and it takes a hit on you financially,” Odhiambo explains.

But the 15-year stay in the area in downtown Nairobi is inching closer to an end with each passing day.

Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has announced plans to relocate the more than 20,000 mechanics from Grogan to a site sandwiched between Utalii College and Mathari Hospital on Thika Road.

The NMS director-general, Maj-Gen Mohamed Badi, revealed the plan earlier this month.

The site has already been sealed off and the construction of roads that mechanics and their customers will use has started.

The site will also have sheds for mechanics, ablution blocks and other amenities.

“We have a designated place along Thika Road, which we have now acquired. If you go to Utalii you will see an area sealed off. That is the area we intend to move all the mechanics you see in Grogan and Ngara to. We have engaged them and their groups and they are all willing to move into a proper and organised place,” the NMS boss said.

“The biggest problem was acquiring the land but that is now done. After we are done with the construction of bus termini in the next month or so, we will move into the site and intend to complete infrastructural work in the next three months,” he added.

But he did not provide specific timelines on when the big exodus will happen.

But even as NMS aims to proceed with the relocation, mechanic Marcel Ochieng is a worried man as he reflects on the effects the plan will have on him and his colleagues.

Ochieng has been a mechanic at Grogan for the past 10 years, having joined the trade in August 2010. He heard of the plan earlier this year and he fears he will be affected as parts of Lower Kirinyaga Road, where he operates as a ‘panel beater’ and spray painter, has seen some stalls that stood there flattened.

If the plan comes to fruition, he avers, he will have to relocate from his house in Satellite estate to one on Thika Road as living so far away will mean spending a lot of money on transport as well as wasting precious time on the road.

His next worry is that he will lose his customers, and the new site will mean starting afresh.

“We will surely lose customers, especially those around the city centre who are used to leaving their vehicles with us and coming back for them after they have been repaired,” he said.

“Driving up to Thika Road will prove an inconvenience to them and they will be forced to look for alternatives.”

But his fears extend to eatery owners, spare parts sellers and boda boda operators at Grogan whose lives have also become intertwined with mechanics in a web of symbiotic relationships.

One such person will be Jane Wanjiku who has run an eatery at Grogan serving mechanics with food for the last eight years.

She said she makes at least Sh3,000 daily from her food kiosk and if the mechanics move, it might just be the end of her trade and a direct ticket back to her rural home in Nyeri.

“It will be difficult to start over again. I don’t even think that the space they are talking about will be able to fit all of us,” she said.

James Ondieki is a boda boda operator. He has been plying his trade in the Grogan area transporting people and being the go-to guy for mechanics who need spare parts delivered quickly.

“They always send us to look for spare parts, especially if the particular one they want is not available in the shops around here. We save them time while they put something in our pockets,” he said.

Kennedy Mugo, a mechanic dealing with engines, sees the plan as a punishment, saying that relocating to a place far away from the city centre will only mean added expenses.

Sourcing spare parts will be an arduous task because he will have to travel to the city centre, losing time in the process. Customers will also face the challenge moving their damaged vehicles to a far-flung area like Thika Road.

“We will lose customers as most will not follow us there. I have worked here since 2010 and most customers know my location but the relocation will create confusion. Customers will look for other options as they prefer garages next to the city centre,” Mugo said.

“They should just leave us to operate here. Everyone will be inconvenienced and for one to recover, it will take time.”

Nonetheless, Maj-Gen Badi said the new development is not meant to punish the mechanics but to free up the land adjacent to the Nairobi River for the implementation of the Nairobi Waterfront Improvement project.

The project involves cleaning up the river and creating public resting places on its banks for use by the public.

Maj-Gen Badi said the project will cover the area from the Globe Roundabout up to the Race Course Roundabout and will be implemented by NMS in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and other agencies.

“We will light up the whole of Nairobi River to have people enjoy the river’s front as it is in other cities like River Thames in London. The restaurants will offer people the chance to talk as they enjoy their evening meals,” he said.

He cited the example of Michuki Park, which has undergone a complete rehabilitation and is now a beauty to behold.

“We have closed illegal dumping sites and discharging points that were affecting the Nairobi and Ngong rivers through illegal effluent discharge. The effluents have reduced and the Nairobi River passing through Michuki Park is now clean. The park is now being used by people,” he said.

But Stephen Mwangi, who runs Mwass Auto Spares on Lower Kirinyaga, believes NMS should use the money intended for the new site on Thika Road to improve the Gragon area and make sure everyone operates in an organised manner.

He began his trade as a mechanic before venturing into selling spare parts and has been in the area for the last 15 years.

“Grogan is the Gikomba of mechanics. Even Toyota Kenya and DT Dobie bring cars they can’t repair here. It is like a one-stop shop. Everything is here,” he claimed.

“Customers know this place and love it because of its strategic location. Connecting to Thika Road for customers will be a nightmare. It is like telling everyone to just pack up and go back home.”

He went on: “Business will be greatly affected as the mechanics are the customers who buy from us. Even if we were to follow them, will we fit there? How will NMS manage the place as well as ensure security for shops and stalls being next to an informal settlement? That money should be used to improve this place.”

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