Mud houses in Kakamega town to be demolished

Kakamega, Kenya: Efforts to improve the face of Kakamega town have gone a notch higher following a decision to demolish all mud houses.

This follows a mushrooming of mud walled houses in a number of estates including Amalemba, Lurambi, Shikhambi and others situated in the town Centre.

Speaking to The Standard, Housing Executive Suleiman Sumba said the houses will  be demolished because they do not meet housing standards set out in the Urban and Cities Act 2011.

BAD LIGHT

"Not only do these houses portray the town in bad light, they also put the lives of those who live in them at risk. The problem can be attributed to lack of a policy which guides planning in the county," he said.

The executive said the county government is putting together a town management committee which will establish a housing policy document to guide on acceptable construction standards.

"We will then issue notices to all those with houses within the town that do not conform to our standards. Those who will be unable to build new standardised houses will be evicted from the town to pave way for other developers," he said.

Mr Sumba said the Urban and Cities Act 2011 already stipulates the kind of houses to be built in urban settings and the town management committee will observe these guidelines.

He also said the county government has drafted a bill, soon to be tabled at the assembly, to enable it establish housing procedures and standards to put an end to cases of buildings collapsing because they do not conform to set standards.

MIXED REACTIONS

However, some house owners who spoke to The Standard expressed their reservations to the new directive saying they are the legitimate land owners and if they are to be evicted, they must first be compensated.

"No one believes the county government will compensate them if they demolish their houses," said Mercy Nyangweso, a resident.

Others welcomed the move saying some of these houses are old and need to be demolished since they are a potential safety risk.