mzeiya
Elder Lister
Nairobi’s Community Hill still puzzles me.
In 1900 or so, the pioneer Nairobi administrator, John Ainsworth, was taken by the influential railway engineer George Whitehouse to view a plot of land. This land, set far from the railway line, was chosen for the construction of buildings for the Imperial British East Africa (IBEA) administrators, who were transitioning from Machakos to Nairobi. Ainsworth decided to establish a camp here for his police. Ironically, the same structures, occupied by administration police for over a century, were still in use until they burned down this year.
It was on this very hill, chosen for its strategic topography, that Ainsworth built the initial police structures. On the neighboring hill—now the grounds of the National Museums—he constructed his residence. This home was later demolished to make way for the Coryndon Museum, today’s National Museums of Kenya. Positioned between these two hills, Ainsworth’s forces could watch over Nairobi from a secure vantage point. Fate, however, played a role in their location, as prime land in Ngara had been given priority for the railway, pushing government structures to the edge of the Kikuyu escarpment.
These buildings, now lost, symbolized the challenges faced by IBEA officials as they worked to establish Nairobi as a township. Their vision laid the groundwork for concentrating government buildings around Community Hill, which still hosts many government ministries today. In this area, on May 18, 1906, Sir James Sadler, then Commissioner for the East African Protectorate, suggested to Winston Churchill, Secretary of State, that Kenya's capital be located away from the plains. Sadler argued that the Uganda Railway's chosen site had inadequate drainage and was unsuitable for a large population, but his advice went unheeded. The government quarters around Community Hill continued expanding westward, while businesses clustered near the railway line.
The story of this area now lies partially buried in the ashes of the burnt police lines—a forgotten chapter in Nairobi’s history. Sadler had warned Churchill that Nairobi’s location was a “depression with a very thin layer of soil or rock,” often waterlogged. He recommended moving the town to higher ground. Yet, railway engineers, who viewed Nairobi as no more than an Indian township, dismissed these concerns, believing it would thrive despite the unsanitary conditions and persistent plagues. As time went on, corrugated iron shops sprang up on the plains as Indian laborers, whose contracts had expired, ventured into business. Prostitutes, sightseers, and travelers soon crowded the area, turning the depot into a bustling hub. This railway depot rapidly transformed into a makeshift town, known mockingly as “Tinville” by some and as the “City under the Sun” by others, who despised its relentless heat and lack of shelter.
Source: John Kamau
