Governor Lenku locks out Kajiado residents' associations from building approvals process
Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku.
Kajiado County residents' associations have lost the power to vet building approvals just three months after entering into a Memorandum of Engagement (MoE) with the devolved unit.
In the deal signed in March between the County Government and the Kajiado County Alliance of Residents Association, the umbrella body for various municipal residents’ associations, the associations were mandated to issue Letters of No Objection (NoLs) before the County Government could approve buildings in their jurisdictions.
The agreement had given residents in urban and peri-urban areas a legal framework and a unified voice in urban planning and development, ensuring that building approvals aligned with community-driven priorities.
However, three months later, Kajiado Governor Joseph Lenku has revoked the associations’ power to vet building approvals. The move has sparked public uproar and left the residents' associations at a crossroads.
In the short period before the revocation, the associations had issued dozens of no-objection certificates to investors.
Speaking during a public forum in Kajiado North sub-County last week, Governor Lenku said he made the decision following overwhelming feedback from members of the public.
“After a careful evaluation of the role residents’ associations were meant to play and having received overwhelming feedback from the public, I have revoked with immediate effect the requirement for residents’ associations to participate in the building plan approval process. Nevertheless, we will support residents’ associations to deliver on the mandate given to them by their members,” said Mr Lenku.
The revocation contradicts the county administration’s push for livable towns and its appeal for rural residents to move to urban areas in search of better services.
However, the associations responded, arguing that no pronouncement, however high-level, can override national legislation or suspend community rights enshrined in law.
In a statement signed by Chairperson Parsimei Gitau, the association advised its members to remain steadfast in their commitment to planned, law-compliant, environmentally responsible and pro-resident development in Kajiado County.
Mr Gitau said No Objection Letters (NoLs) issued by municipal residents’ associations were in line with national laws, including the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) of 1999, the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (PLUPA) of 2019, and the MoE signed with the County Government.
“The NoL process, as designed and contemplated within the MoE, was intended to harmonise county planning instruments with national legislation, facilitating community-level implementation of these legal obligations.
“The withdrawal of a county arrangement does not invalidate national laws regulating spatial development. Such an act has zero impact on the binding nature of national obligations or the legal powers of residents,” read part of the statement seen by the Nation.
“Any developer who disregards these frameworks by annulling the requirement to seek residents’ views and consent (equivalent to NoL) does so at their own legal, financial, technical, and reputational risk.”
The association further stated it was pursuing dialogue to resolve the standoff amicably, but vowed to take all necessary action to ensure towns remain livable and conducive for business.
“We welcome engagement and dialogue. But let it be known: we will not waver on the rule of law, spatial order, or community rights. The future of Kajiado must be governed, not grabbed,” he said.
The ongoing standoff between the county and residents' associations could potentially escalate into a protracted court battle, to the detriment of residents in Kajiado's satellite towns who have long suffered from unscrupulous developers operating in open defiance of planning laws.