Nairobi City County Assembly building. Photo: Bahnfrend via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Listen to this article3 min listenAI voice
Tap play to hear this story
You are listening to Kibra News Network.
MCAs suspend Sakaja’s building-control policy over ‘different document’.
The Nairobi County Assembly's Planning Committee has suspended, with immediate effect, the Development Control Policy that the county executive has been enforcing since it was gazetted in July, The Star reports.
"We have told you to suspend it until we resolve and agree on the pending issues. The interests of our people come first," committee chairperson Geoffrey Majiwa told county officials. "Tell the County Attorney that this is the resolution of the Committee."
Minority Leader Antony Kiragu said the version published by the county does not match what MCAs passed. "What was uploaded to the county website is not the policy that was approved by the Planning Committee and passed by the Assembly," he said, adding that a Land Use Policy should come before a Development Control Policy.
The committee also questioned the legality of the framework, noting that existing court rulings already give guidance on land-use planning and development control.
Cartels and thin resources
Majiwa accused some planning officers of corruption: "You find a planner at a construction site taking bribes and advising the architect on what to tell inspectors."
Planning CECM Patrick Mbogo said the department was "doing the best with the resources available", while acting County Director of Planning Tom Achar said: "We are facing challenges from cartels, and I do not have enough officers or office space to operate effectively."
The committee is probing developments in UN Crescent, South C, Kilimani and Lang'ata.
Sakaja gazetted the Development Control Policy 2026 in July, describing it as a framework for zoning, height limits, density and infrastructure-capacity rules meant to end unplanned construction. Its suspension leaves developers and residents in fast-densifying areas, including parts of Kibra, unsure which rules apply.
This story was put together by K N N from material first published by The Star Background: The Star, 17 July 2.
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
The Nairobi County Assembly’s Planning Committee has suspended, with immediate effect, the Development Control Policy that the county executive has been enforcing since it was gazetted in July, The Star reports.
“We have told you to suspend it until we resolve and agree on the pending issues. The interests of our people come first,” committee chairperson Geoffrey Majiwa told county officials. “Tell the County Attorney that this is the resolution of the Committee.”
Minority Leader Antony Kiragu said the version published by the county does not match what MCAs passed. “What was uploaded to the county website is not the policy that was approved by the Planning Committee and passed by the Assembly,” he said, adding that a Land Use Policy should come before a Development Control Policy.
The committee also questioned the legality of the framework, noting that existing court rulings already give guidance on land-use planning and development control.
Cartels and thin resources
Majiwa accused some planning officers of corruption: “You find a planner at a construction site taking bribes and advising the architect on what to tell inspectors.”
Planning CECM Patrick Mbogo said the department was “doing the best with the resources available”, while acting County Director of Planning Tom Achar said: “We are facing challenges from cartels, and I do not have enough officers or office space to operate effectively.”
The committee is probing developments in UN Crescent, South C, Kilimani and Lang’ata.
Sakaja gazetted the Development Control Policy 2026 in July, describing it as a framework for zoning, height limits, density and infrastructure-capacity rules meant to end unplanned construction. Its suspension leaves developers and residents in fast-densifying areas, including parts of Kibra, unsure which rules apply.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
