To prevent a potential clash between residents and the hospital’s management, police intervened on Thursday, dispersing small groups of protesters who had gathered to voice their concerns. Led by area Member of the County Assembly Rex Omolleh, the residents accused the hospital of illegally acquiring the land in question 11 years ago.
Omolleh stated that the land had previously served as a playground for children. He highlighted that the hospital cordoned off a portion of the land to establish a testing center during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. As the pandemic progressed, the facility subsequently fenced off the entire area and converted it into a parking lot.
“The land belongs to the children of Nairobi West and this one we are not going to negotiate. They grabbed it in 2011 and then in 2019, they took it fully and put a Covid-19 testing centre in that land. The land was marked yesterday by Nairobi County, as illegal. They rubbed off the markings and they have painted it,” said Omolleh.
“The walls are fresh. We have the evidence of the land being a public land. We are going to expose everybody involved and we are not afraid to tell the public that this is their land,” he added.
According to Omolleh, the swing ground as it was known had only swings and trees.
“People used to sit down and play there. In Nairobi West, we do not have a field for children. It has been grabbed. We are going to bring back the playground. We want to bring all these lands that have been grabbed back to the public,” he said.
He said after the playground, next will be reclaiming a market and health centre lands, which have been grabbed.
The MCA addressed the media even as police officers heightened security around the facility.
The MCA said the hospital had verbally admitted that the land had been leased to them but refused to give details of the person who leased the land to them.
“If the property belongs to them let, them bring the title. They know the title is fake. They will be arrested. That is why they do not want to bring the title,” said Omolleh. He said the hospital was served on Wednesday to bring down the fence after it was established that there were no approvals for any construction works.
A letter seen by The Standard bears the rubber stamp of the Director Planning Compliance and Enforcement at Nairobi City County sent to the hospital on Wednesday, asking it to stop any further development henceforth and restore the land or plot to its original use immediately.
The MCA said he has even raised the issue on the floor of the Nairobi County Assembly.
“I have petitioned this land on the floor of the assembly and they have given me the go-ahead to reclaim this land,” he said.
