By Hivi Sasa news Desk
Senior officials at City Hall are under mounting pressure over a trail of controversial building approvals that have culminated in high-profile demolitions across the city.
Increased cases of illegal approvals in upscale residences have now attracted the wrath kf oversight bodies who are calling for a total overhaul of the planning deparment.
Numerous complaints have so far led massive ddmolition of prime properties,houses,including the perimeter wall at State House.
Hundreds of complaints have also emerged from concerned residents in informal settlements over contruction of buildings on riparian land and public spaces.
Enforcement teams have in recent weeks flattened structures deemed illegal — exposing what critics now describe as a deeply compromised approvals system within City Hall.
At the center of the unfolding crisis is the County’s Planning Department, accused by civil society groups of enabling developments on riparian reserves and protected land through questionable or outright unlawful approvals. The demolitions, while legally justified in some cases, have triggered outrage over the apparent double failure of governance: first in allowing construction, then in destroying completed investments worth millions.
Activists are now demanding immediate accountability, calling for the suspension of County Executive Committee Member for Lands and Urban Planning, Patrick Mbogo, alongside senior planning officials to pave the way for independent investigations.
“This is not just negligence — it points to a cartel operating within the approvals chain,” said a coalition of urban governance watchdogs during a tense briefing at City Hall Nairobi.
“Approvals are being issued, money changes hands, buildings go up — and then the same government turns around to demolish them. That is institutional failure at its worst.”
The spotlight has also turned to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, with growing calls for decisive action to restore public trust. Critics argue that failure to act swiftly risks entrenching impunity and further eroding confidence in the county’s planning systems.
Urban development experts warn that Nairobi’s rapid expansion has outpaced regulatory oversight, creating fertile ground for abuse. Weak enforcement, opaque approval processes, and political interference have long been cited as vulnerabilities within the system.
“The question is simple,” said one planning consultant. “Who signed off on these buildings? And why are they still in office while Kenyans bear the losses?”
For the affected and unspecting property owners who have fallen to the traps of planning officials,the damage is already done with many counting losses.
Meanwhile, environmental advocates are set to convene later this month to deliberate on how to enforce laws on reclaiming riparian land in
As pressure builds, demands are growing for a full audit of all approvals issued in recent years, digitization of planning records, and criminal investigations into any officials found culpable.
Chief Officer, Urban Development and Planning in Nairobi County, Patrick Analo on Tuesday told the County Assembly’s Planning Committee that impunity from as section of estate developers in Nairobi County is the cause of the current problem facing the county leading to demolitions along riparian ecosystem.
“Those which are found to have violated the approvals will have to pay the consequences,” Analo warned.
He revealed that, until 1996, most survey plans had clearly marked out all riparian distance within the titles, but some developers had gone ahead and set ups structures exceeding the required distance from rivers.
