Nairobi Railways Club demolished

Nairobi Railways Club has been demolished.

The club had been told to vacate within eight hours, failure to which the premises would face demolitions.

The premises were demolished last night as the government moved to repossess the land to pave way for the Nairobi Expressway Road.

On Wednesday morning, police officers manning the area only allowed hotel workers into the premises.

Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) said in a letter said that the club was to vacate the premises to allow the construction of the Nairobi express way road.

“Further to the Gazette Notice no. 2161 of 2020, a presidential order has been issued to the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to enter into and acquire the premises (Nairobi Railways Club) beginning September 15, 2020, for the commencement of the project Nairobi Expressway Road,” a letter signed by KeNHA AG. CEO Pharis Ngotho read in part.

The Nairobi Expressway is a four-lane dual carriageway designed to run along the central reserve of the A8 road starting from Mlolongo, all the way to the James Gichuru junction.

The Expressway which is Kenya’s first road to be tolled under a public-private participation arrangement will see motorists take 20 minutes to drive across the city from Mlolongo to Rironi near Limuru, through Westlands.

In a normal flow of traffic currently, it takes two to three hours to cover the same stretch.

Several police officers have been deployed to the Nairobi Expressway project to help the contractors and motorists operate with little disruption.

The 27.1 Km project is expected to be complete by December 2022.

Also facing similar evictions is Nairobi Lunar Park, which holds various businesses within the famous Uhuru Park.

Traders owning businesses in Lunar Park have also received similar notices to vacate.

However, they are demonstrating the move, demanding compensations from the government.