Commission urges property owners to provide documents as Nairobi clean-up gains steam

Youths under the World Peace Restoration of Light during the cleaning of Nairobi River on Saturday,  February 21, 2026 /HANDOUT

The Nairobi Rivers Commission is calling on property owners within the Nairobi River Basin to present ownership documents for verification ahead of a major river regeneration initiative.

Commission CEO JosephMuracia said owners with genuine titles or approvals will have their documents verified by a multi-agency team under the Ministry of Lands.

“Depending on the outcome, recommendations will be made on the next steps for each property,” he said, urging the public to avoid incitement and cooperate with the structured exercise.

The move follows Nairobi county’s declaration of the Nairobi River Corridor as a Special Planning Area on March 6, 2025, extending from Naivasha Road to Ruai.

The SPA covers a 60-meter buffer along each side of the river to guide redevelopment, infrastructure projects, flood mitigation, and the construction of social and affordable housing.

The multi-sectoral project involves the Nairobi City county government, the Ministry of Lands, the Nairobi Rivers Commission, the National Environmental Management Authority, and other stakeholders.

Muracia said the initiative will clean and rehabilitate heavily polluted sections of the river, restoring fishing and community use.

He added that encroachers on riparian areas must move. “Once verification is complete, structures with invalid documentation will be removed by the state,” Muracia said.

At Kamukunji, work is 80 per cent complete, including the construction of a community centre and a trunk sewer line stretching 60km from Naivasha Road to Dandora. The area will be transformed into a recreational park with playgrounds, sports grounds, and landscaped gardens.

Muracia said community engagement through Nyumba Kumi and county enforcement teams will help prevent illegal dumping. Households are encouraged to segregate waste at source.

The Sh50 billion Nairobi River Regeneration and Engineering Works Programme, launched last year by President WilliamRuto, focuses on flood control, sewer upgrades, solid-waste management, non-motorised transport corridors, and urban landscaping.