Karen and Langata residents are unhappy with the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and a Chinese construction company China Jiangxi Corporation (CJIC) whom they accuse of defying a court order.
Through the Karen Langata District Association (KLDA), the residents claim that the PSC ignored an order by a Nairobi court to halt the construction of the Ksh3 billion, 14-storied Centre for Parliamentary Studies.
Taking to its official Twitter account on Wednesday, January 4, KLDA stated that construction of the building is still ongoing despite an order for the project to be halted.
Despite Court Orders obtained by KLDA stopping the construction of the proposed Parliamentary Service Commission 14 storey building in Karen, construction continues by Chinese Company CJIC. Is parliament and the Chinese Contractor above the law of Kenya which is Supreme? pic.twitter.com/5SaZIDwvAJ
— Karen Langata District Association (KLDA) (@KLDA_Nbi) January 3, 2023
“Despite court orders obtained by KLDA stopping the construction of the proposed Parliamentary Service Commission, construction is still ongoing,” KLDA said.
The residents further accused CJIC, the Chinese company contracted to construct the Centre for Parliamentary Studies of defying Kenyan laws.
According to court documents seen by The Kenya Times, Justice Lucy Mbugua of the Environment and Lands Court on August 2, 2022, ordered that no further construction should go on until the pending application and objection by the respondents will be heard.
Besides Parliament, other respondents in the petition by KLDA include the Director General, Nairobi Metropolitan Services General Mohamed Badi, the Director General National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and architectural firm APRIM consultants.
The association further stated that Karen residents are not against development arguing that, “development must conform to the Karen Local Physical Development Plan that guides development in Karen of which primarily is a residential area.”
“Adjacent to the proposed PSC building planned to host government officials, there are Karen residents who have invested heavily in their residential homes,” the association said.
The Karen residents further stated that a 14-storey will affect the residential investments adjacent to the site.
“The same residents did “hustle” their lives to be able to live in such a serene neighborhood and this should not be affected by the same government they pay taxes to,” KLDA said.
In December 2022, the association also wrote to the Chinese Ambassador in Nairobi asking him to instruct the contractor to follow the court order.
“We write to you to bring to your attention that the above-mentioned contractor continues with construction despite court orders. This is a violation of the justice system in Kenya and a blatant disrespect of the court orders issued,” the association said in a letter.
