Recently I visited my Friend “Kemboz” who resides in Pipeline, along Mombasa Road.
Being the natural adventurer that I am, I was super excited as this was my first time to venture to those areas.
Upon reaching there, I utterly disappointed. Instead of decent apartments, I saw vertical, poorly designed, overcrowded slums.
And what worries me is that this kind of flats are not limited to Pipeline Estate.
You will find them in almost every low income, middle income estates in Nairobi.
Here is why I dare say that they are poorly designed and might need intervention by regulatory authorities;
Lack of Spatial Considerations
Flats in these estates are so close to one another such that some of them share common walls.
There are completely no walkways or driveways as the building code dictates.
The only entrance to the flat is through a narrow main door.
Height with No Lifts
According to the Kenyan building code, a high rise building with more than 4 floors should have a working lift that ought to be maintained from time to time.
Contrary to the above regulation, these rental flats in such estates have more than 5 floors but lack lifts.
In fact, some are as high as 8 floors and still lack lifts.
I was even left to wonder the struggle people go through especially when ferrying heavy loads or when moving into to the 6th, 7th and 8th floors.
In fact, upon climbing the stairs, the risers and treads are very steep making someone so tired when climbing upwards.
Poor Workmanship
I could not help but notice bent beams, skewed columns and paint peeling off due to water leakages.
To my utter shock, there were some units with clear visible cracks and yet there are some people living in those units.
To add salt to the injury, there were people living on unfinished floors.
Lack of social Amenities
Can you imagine living in a house without regular power supply, and no water?
In fact, my friend told me that they normally purchase water from vendors who sell them at KES 20 per gallon.
And remember you have to carry it all the way up to the 8th floor on very steep stairs.
Looking around the flats, the sewage system is poor maintained with the manholes constantly spilling sewer to the nearby walkways and trenches and in the process producing a very bad odor.
Squeezed Room Spaces
The spaces in the rooms are so tight, barely measuring 7ft by 5ft.
To worsen the situation, the windows are quite small making ventilation very poor.
In fact, in case someone has a communicable disease such as tuberculosis, it is very easy for them to infect the rest.
Lack of Basic Utilities
You see, the developers there are so keen in building unworthy rentals, that they forget there is need for space for children playground, schools and hospitals.
The only school I saw was so densely populated, you are left to wonder whether it is the right environment for studies. I was also worried that the school was also located next to a local bar which apparently operates 24/7.
Hospitals, daycares, and barbershops are located on the ground floor only of the rental units and in very squeezed rooms.
Looking back, as much as one would like to fault the developers of those poorly built flats, the biggest failure is from both the county government of Nairobi and the law enforcement agencies such the NCA, the Kenya Police, and NACADA.
This is because these are the bodies empowered by the law in ensuring that the houses in such estates are built as per the stipulated code. They are also empowered to arrest and take to court those who breach such laws.
I left the estate convinced that that is the reason we constantly have cases of buildings collapsing and not only causing damage and loss to properties, but also sadly taking away lives.
Being the natural adventurer that I am, I was super excited as this was my first time to venture to those areas.
Upon reaching there, I utterly disappointed. Instead of decent apartments, I saw vertical, poorly designed, overcrowded slums.
And what worries me is that this kind of flats are not limited to Pipeline Estate.
You will find them in almost every low income, middle income estates in Nairobi.
Here is why I dare say that they are poorly designed and might need intervention by regulatory authorities;
Lack of Spatial Considerations
Flats in these estates are so close to one another such that some of them share common walls.
There are completely no walkways or driveways as the building code dictates.
The only entrance to the flat is through a narrow main door.
Height with No Lifts
According to the Kenyan building code, a high rise building with more than 4 floors should have a working lift that ought to be maintained from time to time.
Contrary to the above regulation, these rental flats in such estates have more than 5 floors but lack lifts.
In fact, some are as high as 8 floors and still lack lifts.
I was even left to wonder the struggle people go through especially when ferrying heavy loads or when moving into to the 6th, 7th and 8th floors.
In fact, upon climbing the stairs, the risers and treads are very steep making someone so tired when climbing upwards.
Poor Workmanship
I could not help but notice bent beams, skewed columns and paint peeling off due to water leakages.
To my utter shock, there were some units with clear visible cracks and yet there are some people living in those units.
To add salt to the injury, there were people living on unfinished floors.
Lack of social Amenities
Can you imagine living in a house without regular power supply, and no water?
In fact, my friend told me that they normally purchase water from vendors who sell them at KES 20 per gallon.
And remember you have to carry it all the way up to the 8th floor on very steep stairs.
Looking around the flats, the sewage system is poor maintained with the manholes constantly spilling sewer to the nearby walkways and trenches and in the process producing a very bad odor.
Squeezed Room Spaces
The spaces in the rooms are so tight, barely measuring 7ft by 5ft.
To worsen the situation, the windows are quite small making ventilation very poor.
In fact, in case someone has a communicable disease such as tuberculosis, it is very easy for them to infect the rest.
Lack of Basic Utilities
You see, the developers there are so keen in building unworthy rentals, that they forget there is need for space for children playground, schools and hospitals.
The only school I saw was so densely populated, you are left to wonder whether it is the right environment for studies. I was also worried that the school was also located next to a local bar which apparently operates 24/7.
Hospitals, daycares, and barbershops are located on the ground floor only of the rental units and in very squeezed rooms.
Looking back, as much as one would like to fault the developers of those poorly built flats, the biggest failure is from both the county government of Nairobi and the law enforcement agencies such the NCA, the Kenya Police, and NACADA.
This is because these are the bodies empowered by the law in ensuring that the houses in such estates are built as per the stipulated code. They are also empowered to arrest and take to court those who breach such laws.
I left the estate convinced that that is the reason we constantly have cases of buildings collapsing and not only causing damage and loss to properties, but also sadly taking away lives.