Eastlands is ‘ushago’ for three Nairobian generations

Eastlands estates like Jericho, Kaloleni, Makadara and Jerusalem are almost as old as the city of Nairobi, with some of them having been built in the 1920s, when Kenya was still a British colony.

While most were built by the colonialists to house government workers near their workplaces in the central business district, there are others like Kaloleni that were built to house World War II veterans.

What is most intriguing, however, is that through ‘inheritance,’ most of the families currently living in these neighbourhoods have been here for the last three generations.

I was born here

“My father moved into this house in the late 1950s, just before Kenya gained independence and before I was born,” George Radiala, a father of five who lives in the same house he was born in 52 years ago in Kaloleni, told The Nairobian.

“I was born in this very house. There were good midwives and so women never used to go to the hospital,” he explains.

His father, who used to be a laundryman at the Norfolk Hotel, resigned after a few years of employment and started a laundry business that he ran from the one-bedroom house.

“The houses have one bedroom, a spacious living room and a big kitchen with a washing area. In the days gone by, they used to have very spacious compounds where, as children, we would play in and have a good time,” Riadala reminisces.

“My father had two wives and 14 children. As we grew up, he built some temporary extensions in the compound since culture demanded that boys sleep separately.”

Just like in the days gone by, the Nairobi City County (NCC) collects rent for the main house, but not the extensions.

The tenants collect rent from the extensions, which many use to pay the NCC rent since most are jobless.

Although the house is still registered in his father’s name, Radiala is planning to change it to his own name through a process that he says will costs him Sh2,500 at City Hall.

No services

“The rent is Sh1,800 today, but the tragedy is that NCC is very quick to pick the money, but no longer provide any services,” he complains.

“The water system broke down many years ago and we now have to buy water from cartels which exploit us,” he adds.

Ezra Olack, a man who still lives in the same house he was born in back in 1974, says, “This house was originally owned by my grandfather who fought in the Second World War but never returned home from battle.”

The British built Kaloleni as a centre for Kings African Rifle (KAR) veterans returning from war. “Although my grandfather never returned, he left my grandmother pregnant with my father who was born in this very same house in 1948,” says Olack who is in his 30s.

He explains that, “The 10 of us were born and brought up in this house. All the others have left and I am the only one remaining.” He reveals that his parents retired to the village.

“For most people in Kaloleni and other Eastlands estates like Maringo, Makadara and Jericho, the family house is usually like their ‘ushago’ (rural village),” he explains. “So, when other people travel to their rural areas at the end of the year, we come ‘home’ to Eastlands.”

With the house having just one bedroom and the family comprising 10 children and sometimes even hosting visiting relatives, he recalls how every available space served as a sleeping area - from the sofa to the floor and a small store outside.

“We live in harmony here in the Eastlands community. Ethnicity is not a problem. Most people who grew up here can speak several languages and have intermarried so much that post electoral violence never affected us,” Olack observes.

Demolitions

“When somebody dies, we usually come together and organise for burial at the Lang’ata Cemetery, since about 70 per cent of people in these neighbourhoods don’t have ‘ushago’,” he discloses.

Like all residents of Eastlands, he complains about NCC’s plans to “demolish the houses and allocate the land to wealthy people in the name of upgrading.”

He adds that, “These houses were built by the colonial government for the returning soldiers and the NCC was supposed to be a trustee, not the landlord.”  Olack notes that, “We have been told they were supposed to have been given to the occupants after 25 years, but today these houses are 15 years shy of a 100 and there are no signs that NCC will be giving them up.”

Many residents of Eastlands who spoke to The Nairobian claimed the county government has neglected the houses deliberately with the intention of condemning them as inhabitable.

“We have already seen their intentions, and we will go down fighting since most of us know no other home besides these houses,” Radiala declares.

“What justification do the NCC have to claim that Eastlands houses need to be demolished? Are we not better than those who live in mud houses in the slums?” he poses.

The County Chief Officer in charge of Urban Planning and Housing, Rose Muema, admits that, “The Eastlands houses have a lot of issues, but we are trying to solve them as a county government, while incorporating all the tenants since they have been there for long. For now, I will not delve deep in the matter because there is a lot being done by the housing department.”

NCC is currently carrying out a countywide renovation programme to upgrade old city houses, with Eastlands being one of the key areas.

Peter Kibue, the founder of City Market Association, was born in Kaloleni 54 years ago. He says that the houses should be declared national monuments since they are part of Nairobi’s history.

“Let’s stop destroying national treasures like these houses because of politics and so-called development,” he pleads.

“Let the government declare Eastlands estates like Kaloleni, Jericho and Makadara national monuments and the tenants be the custodians like what happens in cities like Mombasa and Jerusalem where they have gazetted historical zones for posterity,” he offers.