Houses in Mombasa’s Old Town to be revamped

New houses coming up within the Old Town's old buildings despite the Museums and UNESCO laws of not building houses more than four storeys. PHOTO| GIDEON MAUNDU

What you need to know:

  • According to Mombasa Old Town Conservation Office (MOTCO), there are at least 26 buildings that are in dire need of restoration, some of them requiring total reconstruction.

  • The buildings that hosted the first post office, a police station and a hospital are in a bad state and might collapse if urgent measures are not taken to restore them, an official of MOTCO said.

Mombasa County plans to refurbish buildings in the Old Town, in a move intended to improve the image of the ancient town. The county’s move comes in the wake of concern by conservationists that structures in the UNESCO listed heritage town were fast wearing out.

Mackinnon Market – which is over 100 years old – will be renovated at a cost of Sh40 million, according to Abdi Mohamed, county executive in charge of trade, energy and industry.

“The market will be refurbished in phases to ensure that those doing business there are not inconvenienced. On the reconstruction of the other structures in the town, we are holding discussions to see how we are going to allocate funds and carry out the exercise,” he said.

The town, with its narrow streets and alleys, is visited by hundreds of tourists each year, but currently the buildings are in a state of disrepair and the visitor numbers have dwindled.

As you walk along the streets, one notices that the walls of most buildings have huge cracks while in some cases, structures have collapsed.

While roads are also in a poor state, there is garbage strewn all over. The buildings were last refurbished in 2003 when the European Union offered a grant of Sh100 million. At the time, there were 10 employees working with the community and sensitising them on the importance of conserving their houses. However, when the donor funding dried out, all projects collapsed.

According to Mombasa Old Town Conservation Office (MOTCO), there are at least 26 buildings that are in dire need of restoration, some of them requiring total reconstruction.

The buildings that hosted the first post office, a police station and a hospital are in a bad state and might collapse if urgent measures are not taken to restore them, an official of MOTCO said.

REGULATIONS NOT BEEN ADHERED TO

Grabbing of plots in the old town is also rampant, with those who acquire the plots constructing modern buildings that are not in harmony with the old ones. Mr Taibali Hamzali, a member of Friends of Fort Jesus (FFJ), says several plots have been grabbed and a number of historical buildings demolished in unclear circumstances.

Regulations on putting up of structures in the protected area have not been adhered to since for instance despite that only three floors are allowed within the conservation area, developers have constructed high rise buildings with several flats towering over the historic households.

Any development in the old has to be approved by MOTCO, a rule that most developers do not adhere to.

The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) estimates that they will need at least Sh300 million to renovate the buildings but according to NMK assistant director Athman Hussein, no money has been allocated for the purpose. “Most people don’t have money to rebuild their houses to required standards,” he said in a recent interview.

The town has however benefitted from part of a Sh1.2 billion Kenya Power street lighting project for Mombasa town. The project will see a total upgrade of equipment in Mombasa and insulation of cables as well as modernisation of distribution network and already, Kenya Power has installed 500 floodlights in the old town at a cost of Sh46 million.

The modernisation of power distribution network in the old town is expected to cost Sh165 million and will also involve installation of insulated conductor lines and replacement of wooden poles with the more robust concrete ones, Kenya Power said during the launch.

Coming at a time there have been attacks in the narrow streets that become hide outs for youth gangs at the fall of dusk, street lighting has greatly improved security in the area.

When President Uhuru Kenyatta walked through the streets of the town from Mackinnon market to Fort Jesus two months ago to cheers by crowds of area residents, he promised that the National Youth Service (NYS) would help in repainting and reconstructing the houses. But the project too has been suspended following graft allegations in the Ministry of Devolution. 

The county will also build a walk-way from Fort Jesus to the old port, which will be used by tourists and locals, according Mr Abdi, who insisted that although the projects have faced funding challenges, the county was determined to complete them.

“We are on track because deliberations on how we will finance them are ongoing. The walkway will for instance go a long way to improve tourism, which has experienced a slump in the past three years,” he told DN2.