Runda fights against intrusion by Nairobi road

The construction of a major road meant to ease traffic flow in Nairobi has run into legal headwinds with residents of upmarket Runda estate seeking court orders to stop it.

The road, whose construction began last year, is being built on land reserved for the purpose more than 25 years ago, but Runda residents say it would disrupt their lifestyles and devalue property in the gated estate where exclusivity remains a key selling point.

The suit seeks to block the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) from building the Northern bypass road through the estate and to quash the National Environmental Management Authority’s 2009 decision to endorse the project.

The residents want the government to divert the bypass to alternative routes outside the estate, but the government insists that it bought and reserved the land long before the area was settled, making it impossible to change its course.

Legal experts said the case marks yet another showdown between the public interest as represented by the government and private pursuits of segments of the population.

Though Emmanuel Wache, the lawyer representing Runda Residents Association, agrees that the roads plan was drawn when the area was a coffee estate, he insists that the change of course was necessary in view of the millions of shillings spent on developing the area.

Mr Wache argues that having such a major road running through the estate poses the risk of breaching the area’s security and the privacy of residents, besides exposing their children to the risk of being hit by speeding commercial vehicles.

Popular public service vehicles, the matatus, are not allowed to ply roads passing through the estate while heavy commercial vehicles are blocked from 6pm and during weekends.

The government however insists that the road must be built according to the original plan since it infringes on no private plot.

“No notice to demolish anyone’s property has been issued in Runda making opposition to the road untenable,” said Rachael Keino, the head of communication at the Roads ministry.

Delay in construction of the Northern bypass will hold up efforts to decongest Nairobi’s central business district through diversion of traffic that has no business in the city centre.

Traffic congestion is estimated to cost Sh2 billion a day in fuel consumption and lost man hours, making it a key concern for the city’s planners and managers of the Vision 2030 development blueprint.

The Northern Bypass is a 25-kilometre road linking Thika Road to Waiyaki Way which is part of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

It runs through Kahawa West, Githurai, and upmarket Thome, Windsor, Runda and Kitisuru estates.

Work on the Sh8.5 billion road is in progress and has reached Kiambu Road from where it must enter Runda through Githogoro slums.

Construction of another key road, the Southern bypass, has also failed to start according to plan after the World Bank – a key financier of the project – decided to repeat a due diligence on the ownership structure of the consortium that was awarded the tender to build it.

The two – together with the Eastern Bypass, are meant to divert Mombasa or Nakuru bound traffic from Nairobi’s city centre and to cut the cost of congestion as part of the Vision 2030 development plan.

The roads are also expected to open up new areas for investments and help cool property prices and rents in the Kenyan capital.

Mr Wache maintains that construction of the Northern bypass through Runda cannot go on because the matter is before the National Environmental Tribunal which has issued “stay of execution” orders.

Of the four upmarket estates that the road is to cut through, Runda, which sells exclusivity as premium faces the worst erosion in the value of property and rents.

Half of the premises — houses and office blocks — in the gated estate are, for example, rented by individuals, businesses and non-profit organisations while the remaining half is owner occupied.

Should there be a mass exodus of tenants with loss of exclusivity, owners of property will miss out on monthly rental incomes of between Sh200,000 and Sh250,000 or earn less from new tenants.

Property in Runda is valued at between Sh40 million and Sh45 million and most residents fear they will suffer major depreciation should the road pass through the estate.

In Kitusuru, half an acre plot is valued at Sh18 million with a developed plot going for double the amount.

At Thome, a five-bedroom house on half an acre goes for about Sh17 million based on property prices guide supplied by various estate agents.

Property prices in high end residential segment of the market have been rising at an average of 30 per cent annually in the last five years, according to Steve Magembe, a property valuer with Dominion Valuers.

“Homes located near the bypass will definitely be affected leaving the owners with the option of converting them to commercial units whose value appreciates with ease of accessibility,” said Mr Magembe.

Runda has the highest concentration of top class tenants including diplomats working at nearby UN offices in Gigiri as well as in Denmark, Romania, Venezuela and Polish embassies located in the area.

Major losers will be developers who financed their properties with loans, because the projected value appreciation will slow down at the time when interest on mortgage and loans is not falling.

“I am still servicing the loan I used to develop my home, so it’s a setback because the interest rates have in fact increased. If the sale value depreciates, I will be in for a long haul,” said Nelly Karimi, a resident.

Mr Daniel Ojijo, the managing director of Mentor Group, a property developer, however maintains that Runda residents should not panic because they can turn the estate into a smaller gated community area as has happened in Lavington and Karen.

The bypass, he says, should be built because of the enormous value it will create across the areas it passes through.

“If you look at the road that cuts across Gigiri, it has not brought down the value of property there and the contrary is true; the value has gone up,” said Mr Ojijo.

The bypass is also expected to ease the movement of Runda residents, a substantial number of who are frequent flyers, to and from the Jomo Kenyatta airport.

The road joins the Southern bypass at Ruiru that runs to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) through the Airport Road.

Driving from the JKIA to Thika Road using the Eastern Bypass takes less than 20 minutes and it will take less time to drive from Thika Road to Runda when the Northern Bypass is completed, compared to one or several hours (in heavy traffic) it takes to make the journey through Uhuru Highway and Mombasa Road.