Huge losses as buildings razed

Demolition of buildings on road reserves on Thika highway entered its second day on Sunday, leaving losses running into millions of shillings in its trail.

Roy Hauliers Ltd in Nairobi’s Roysambu area became the latest victim of the demolition aimed at paving way for the expansion of Thika-Nairobi highway, infamous for its traffic snarl-ups.

Unlike Saturday when the demolitions began at 5am, Sunday’s started at noon to allow businesses to salvage whatever they could in the ruins of their buildings.

For the better part of the morning, workers at Nakumatt supermarket were busy carting away some valuables before bulldozers descended on the partly demolished building.

By afternoon, Vision Grills restaurant and Kenol service station were flat on the ground. Roy Transmotors Ltd, which was partly demolished on Saturday was also set to be brought down on Sunday.

Billboards were also destroyed. Also affected by the demolition were security firms which hurriedly emptied automated teller machines (ATMs) belonging to Barclays, Equity and NIC banks at the Kenol petrol station.

Curious people watched from a distance as buildings came tumbling down. More buildings are set to be demolished in the next few days after defying a three-month notice to bring down their buildings.

The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) called on the Government to show concern to those who are losing their jobs as a result of the demolitions.

Losing their jobs

In a statement, secretary-general Francis Atwoli said his organisation feared that many people had lost their employment and said there was need to address their plight.

“We are deeply concerned about the number of workers who risk losing their jobs after the demolitions. We urge the Government to quickly show concern by addressing their plight,” said Mr Atwoli .

Most people supported the Government’s action, saying it was a warning to would-be land grabbers.

Motorists also praised the move to expand the highway, which they termed a solution to the perpetual traffic gridlock that is Thika Road.