Up To 30 Floors- Ruto Removes Limit On Eastleigh Buildings
Ruto revealed that removing the cap was part of his goal to ensure residents live in decent accommodation.
Marvin Chege 
President William Ruto has announced that the government will lift the 12-floor limit on storey buildings in Eastleigh, Nairobi, allowing developers to construct up to 30 storeys.
Speaking on Monday, May 6 during his tour of Mathare in Nairobi County, the Head of State revealed that removing the cap was part of his goal to ensure residents live in decent accommodation.
This will ensure that slum dwellers will be granted a good standard of living from the tough times of living in slum areas, some of which have been on riparian lands, thus bringing about a sense of harmony.
"Because I am the Commander in Chief, I have said that in Eastleigh, you couldn't build a house beyond 12 floors but now we can build storey buildings of up to either 25 or 30 floors so that citizens can get accommodation and live in a harmonious neighbourhood," he stated.
A busy street in Eastleigh, Nairobi. /FILE
Ruto also revealed that the government is on the verge of advertising tenders for the construction of 20,000 affordable houses covering the slum neighbourhoods of Kiamaiko, Mathare, Kibra as well as Mwiki.
He added that once complete, citizens will only have to pay Ksh3,000 monthly in a rent-to-buy agreement aimed to help them become owners of homes coupled with adequate water supply and individual washrooms.
"Before Friday, we are going to advertise for the construction of 20,000 housing units From Kibra, here in Kiamaiko all the way to Mwiki so that so that we can begin the process of making these slum dwellers homeowners in Kenya."
"The houses we are building, you the citizen will be paying Ksh3,000 and live in an apartment house with water supply, power, and washrooms," he added.
Ruto's directive adds support to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja's announcement that his administration removed the floor limit for landlords constructing high-rise residential apartments in the capital city following the green light given by the Kenya Kwanza government.
"Before there was a restriction on the heights of apartments especially close to the airport from the Eastleigh airbase coming down this way. I asked the president, while we were opening the houses at Kiambio and Bahati, that the reason there was an airbase built was to evacuate the president in case of an emergency," Sakaja said during a church service in Makadara on Sunday, March 24.
"I told the President that if he tries that he will be stuck in traffic. You cannot be evacuated through Eastleigh anymore. I am happy the height restriction has been removed we are going to go up to 25 floors in these houses we are building."
After his revelation that tall buildings would be constructed in areas such as Eastleigh, Kileleshwa and Lavington, Sakaja added that the constructions might go higher in other areas around the city.
"We have proposed an area-specific zoning framework that goes up to 75 floors in some areas. It is before the assembly,” Sakaja posted on X
However, over 26 professional and resident groups in Nairobi opposed Sakaja's plan arguing that it goes against the law and harms the environment.
Some residents feared that the move would catastrophically fail if the government did not address the existing challenges of water and traffic.
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