Pangani home where debris falls like rain: A city resident tells of daily nightmare

Catherine Kamau, 53, has been living a nightmare of sorts for the past six months. But it’s not by choice. When she first moved to Pangani, Nairobi, in 1997, she knew the bungalow located off Juja Road would be an ideal place to raise her family.

She lived in relative peace until October 2021, when two different construction projects started right next to her home. Now, her compound – sandwiched between the sites – is virtually unrecognisable. The family property has been reduced to a walking hazard – piles of junk, free-falling debris, wooden planks, bits of concrete and gravel drop into her compound from the sites regularly.

Ms Kamau’s house sits in the middle of two ongoing infrastructure developments: the upgrading of Don Bosco Secondary School by an unlisted contractor and a multi-storey residential building that lists Jamun City Construction Ltd as the developer. The three properties are separated by common perimeter walls. 

Ms Kamau and her tenants, who are in the same compound as her home, have been living in fear of suffering head injuries from the falling debris. In an interview with the Nation, Ms Kamau revealed that they use umbrellas when entering their homes to avoid being hit.

Her tenants have also resorted to putting up makeshift protective shields over their property to avoid damage.

Dangers

She alleges that at times, the Don Bosco Secondary School developer builds at night, subjecting surrounding residents to construction noise. One of the tenants, a nursing mother, had to relocate because of the constant noise.

Apart from the debris, Ms Kamau said her son was almost electrocuted when water from the construction site flowed into her compound and seeped through her home’s power sockets. Caroline Wairimu, a tenant whose window was broken by a rock from one of the sites, narrated how the experience shook her and her young son to the core.

The compound’s drainage system has also been affected: cement-loaded water has infiltrated pipes, exacerbating an already dire sewerage problem in the area. The tenants are now reduced to using blocked toilets, exposing them to risk of contracting water-borne diseases.

“When it got so bad, I decided to go to the Nairobi County offices in November 2021 to file a complaint,’’ Ms Kamau said.

She was then accompanied to her property by police officers to ascertain her complaints and assess the danger the construction sites pose.

“When we arrived at the site, they talked amongst themselves and declined to confront the owner of Don Bosco Secondary School for breaching construction regulations,” she said.

Ms Kamau said the officers appeared to be intimidated by the prospect of confronting the owner of the school. 

“They did not give me a reason for refusing to enter the construction site yet they were the authorities. I wondered where else I should seek redress,’’ she recounted.

Later, after the visit, the officers arrested the owner of the residential property, who issued an apology, cleaned up and promised to install safety nets to prevent construction materials from falling into her property.

But the respite didn’t last long, she said, as both developers soon reverted to their old ways. Frustrated, she decided to report the matter at the Pangani Police Station in February this year. Officers there directed her to the National Construction Authority (NCA).

Ms Kamau filed an official complaint with NCA on March 11. She received a response three weeks later when the agency’s officers visited her home.

When the Nation reached NCA for comment, Executive Director Maurice Akech noted that the agency had suspended construction at the two sites and that it will monitor the projects to ensure works only resume after the dispute is resolved and they fully comply with regulatory requirements.

But when the Nation visited Ms Kamau’s residence on April 4, construction was still going on at both sites. The foreman at Don Bosco Secondary School, Mr Kennedy Ouma, feigned ignorance of the situation, saying he was unaware that debris from the site was falling into Ms Kamau’s compound and posing a danger to her family and tenants. 

Later, however, he admitted that they had paid to repair a damaged car that was hit by falling debris from the project. The owner of Don Bosco Secondary School was not available for comment by publication time.

The Nation established that safety nets and buffers, a requirement when undertaking such building projects, were missing from both construction sites. The installations in place are flimsy and do little to protect those living below from falling debris.

Ms Kamau seems exasperated – she says she’s at her wit’s end. She insists she has seen no sign that Jamun City Construction Ltd and the unnamed contractor upgrading Don Bosco Secondary will honour their commitments to her and the authorities. 

In an interview with the Nation, lawyer Joseph Kihara stated that when developers are issued with a licence from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), they must adhere to the conditions of operation including installing safety nets and buffers.

Mr Kihara added that the Nairobi County government and NCA have issued stipulations that developers must follow for construction sites, including installing safety mesh nets that prevent construction materials from falling on people.

A March 29 court decision by a Kibera court affirms Mr Kihara’s assertions. In the case, Yahya Mohammed, a private developer, was fined Sh500,000 for failing to install buffers that would protect the public from falling projects.

The NCA said it would send officers to the site and insists it has suspended work at both construction sites.

“In the event that rogue developers continue with construction even after being suspended, the National Construction Authority Act gives us the authority to issue penalties to defiant developers. The penalty includes a fine of up to Sh1,000,000 and a jail term not exceeding three years,’’ Mr Akech told the Nation.

But the Nation observed by publication time that construction was still ongoing at both sites.

Ms Kamau remembers the days when her compound was once dotted with playing children and busy parents. It is now deserted. Her tenants stay indoors, afraid of coming into contact with falling construction debris.

“I just want the developers to adhere to construction guidelines and install quality safety nets that will stop hazardous materials from falling into my compound. They should also repair damaged property and do a proper clean-up,’’ Ms Kamau said.

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