Nairobi Senator Sifuna questions continued closure of Uhuru Park
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has now sought answers from the office of Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja regarding the continued closure of Uhuru Park.
Through a letter, the Senator said that as of October last year, the renovation works at the iconic park were almost complete, but the area is still closed to date.
He says that last year, he held a meeting with the governor and the KDF personnel in charge of the renovation exercise, and they were assured that the park was to be officially opened in December last year.
“Close to four months later, the facility remains inaccessible occasioning great inconvenience to the residents of Nairobi and to the thousands of visitors the city receives daily,” Senator Sifuna said.
He said that his office has received numerous complaints surrounding the continued closure of the facility, and he is seeking answers from the Defence CS and Sakaja, about whether there is ongoing work at the facility.
Sifuna also wants to know whether the facility was officially handed back to the county government of Nairobi as had been promised last year by the Defence CS.
Also, the Senator is seeking answers from the governor regarding to specific date when the park will be opened to the public again.
Also read: Rare look inside the revamped Uhuru and Central Parks (Photos)
Sifuna is also seeking clarification on whether the facility was formally returned to the Nairobi County Government, as assured by the Defence CS last year.
Additionally, the Senator is pressing the governor for a specific reopening date for the park to the public.
Last year, the governor stated that the KDF was in the final stages of preparing to return the park to the county.
The park has however been opened for major activities, including the Nairobi Festival Ceremony which was held for six days in December last year.
It was also opened for Christmas, and New Year celebrations last year, which saw thousands of residents showing up.
President William Ruto also used the facility last year when he launched the distribution of medical kits to Community Health Promoters (CHPs).
The facility was closed during the era of the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) as major renovation started, which caused public uproar over the alleged cutting of trees.