Nairobi News

HustleNews

We are not built on riparian land, Village Market says


The Village Market Mall management have refuted claims that their upscale shopping mall and the luxurious Tribe Hotel are built on riparian land.

This comes after a section of the media reported that the two were among thousands of properties earmarked for demolition.

In a statement on Friday, the mall’s management said that they had not been issued with any environmental or demolition notices and that they are not built on wetland.

“Media articles and reports alleging that the Village Market and the Tribe Hotel lie on wetland and are earmarked for demolition are not true,” read part of the statement.

The statement further said that there was no issue pending with the government or law enforcement agency to warrant the demolition nor do they have any information or notice of any intended demolition.

DEMOLISHED

Demolitions started on Monday as the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) set out to reclaim illegally occupied wetlands in the city.

The national environment watchdog has so far demolished structures on riparian land in Nairobi’s Kileleshwa area, Langata Road and Westlands.

Police have since established a special desk at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Headquarters where the owners of affected buildings in the demolitions are required to present any approval documents granted to them by authorities.

Village Market, which was opened in 1995 with only 10 shops, today covers over 225,713 square feet of leasing space and is three levels high, with more than 150 outlets.

The Village Market offers a variety of recreational facilities, that included a swimming and water slides area, bowling and mini-golf facility.

The adjoining Tribe Hotel, which is a five-star hotel, has 142 guest rooms and suites while a new three-star business hotel with 215 rooms is complete and will be officially open soon.