Concerns as Mombasa Island gradually turns into a residential city

It’s daybreak, and shafts of sunlight are streaming through the open floors of high-rise buildings under construction in the suburbs near Mombasa’s Central Business District (CBD). 

The sun's rays metaphorically dance on the ocean at the Likoni crossing channel as ferries transport thousands of passengers to the island amidst the rising construction of skyscrapers. 

Unlike other major cities, the skyscrapers emerging on Mombasa Island are not commercial apartments but residential flats, taking up space that once flourished with business. 

The relocation of most businesses to Nyali, which has gradually transformed from a residential area into a business hub, largely drives the island’s shift in land use, people say. 

Owners of maisonettes and bungalows have been pushed out of Nyali high-rise buildings after they lost court battles to safeguard their privacy. 

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Other than Nyali, property owners in other affluent estates like Kizingo and Ganjoni are also worried that the over-20-floor buildings would interfere with their privacy. 

In Nyali, other than offices, all major financial institutions have opened shops, and so are shopping malls, including the China Centre. 

Eng. Evans Makara, a real estate developer, says the owners of maisonettes and bungalows argue that tenants in skyscrapers can see their compounds, including swimming pools. 

“Marionette and bungalow owners rely on the repealed Mombasa construction policy that stipulated that the area was only for lower horizontal houses,” said Makara. 

He said that the landscape of Mombasa started shifting in the late 1990s when the city lost its allure as a clubbing and tourism island following the collapse of cruise ship tourism. 

In early 2000, people converted most commercial buildings in the CBD along Kenyatta Avenue into mobile phone and garment stalls. Importers brought most garments from Tanzania. 

Trade analysts say the fall of the city as a trade hub was because of the decision by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to adopt paperless transactions. 

After the clearing and forwarding services and sale of tea at the Mombasa auction went online, most firms closed their offices and moved to other cities or parts of Mombasa. 

Others attribute the growth of the satellite cities to the past challenges of traffic on the island. Other Nyali, Changamwe, and Mtwapa, have also eaten into the Mombasa Island business. 

Lawyer Richard Ngari said the rise of residential skyscrapers has come up with many issues, such as legal battles between the apartment owners and the developers. 

On May 5, 2022, proprietors of properties in the Kizingo area filed a case to stop the construction of the 18-floor building by Khanza Developers Ltd, saying it would interfere with their privacy. 

They argued that the would-be tenants of the 18-floor building in Mombasa would interfere with their privacy in bedrooms and private swimming pools. 

Justice Lucas Naikuni of the Environment and Lands Court agreed with the petitioners and stopped the construction. He warned that if left unchecked, the development of high-rise apartments may soon turn towns into “vertical slums.” 

Former Mombasa County Commissioner Maalim Mohamed said the change in construction policy to allow high-rise buildings was because of the rising population in Mombasa. 

“Mombasa is one of the smallest counties in terms of land mass. We must expand our land upwards because we cannot live the way we used to decades ago,” said Maalim. 

Maalim, Secretary of Administration, said that Mombasa County was also demolishing old estates in Kizingo, Tudor, Shanzu, and Nyali to erect tall residential buildings. 

“We must have infrastructure such as a road network, water supply, electricity supply, and a good sewage system. If we don’t take action, we will end up creating vertical slums,” he stated, as the judge pointed out. 

A real estate developer, Dr Fredrick Gikandi, said habitable land was getting scarce and tall residents’ flats were the way to go, adding that the same was happening in Kiambu County. 

He said buying an apartment was cheaper, although Kenyans were still obsessed with owning a land title deed. 

Lawyer Ngari said; “Most people rush to buy apartments without carrying out due diligence, which makes them later run into trouble with the developers.”

Engineer David Jomeli warned that the mushrooming of high-rise buildings threatens Mombasa’s status as a UNESCO heritage site, like Lamu and Zanzibar. 

“Mombasa will lose this recognition as a UNESCO heritage site because the buildings designed and approved are incompatible with Arabic architecture,” he said. 

He termed the shift as serious because the Kenya National Museum was not being consulted during the approval of such buildings. 

Eng Jomeli agreed that businesses were deserting Mombasa, adding that iconic commercial buildings like the Ambalal Trading Centres, Bima Towers and GPO House were empty. 

“The new development is because of the failure of the county government to follow the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (PLUPA),” said Eng Jomeli, adding that under the law of zoning, Mombasa Island is not supposed to have high-rise buildings. 

Engineer Jomeli pointed out that high-rise buildings along the Likoni Channel were a threat to navigation along the Likoni Channel.  “For the navigation of ships, high-rise buildings are a security threat, as the pilots are supposed to have a clear view of the waters,” said Jomeli. 

He said the port, like airports, is supposed to have a clear view of the water, unlike now, when many infrastructures obstruct a clear view of the water. 

Jomeli, a member of the board of directors of the Kenya Federation of Master Builders (KFMB) and the Joint Building Construction Council, said there was also no proper geotechnical survey to guide the development of the skyscrapers on the island. 

“The island has a very fragile surface, and if we have no adequate geological studies to inform the development, we risk the collapse of buildings like what happened recently,” he said. 

Former National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) enforcement officer Ben Wemali said each new residential skyscraper has a borehole that damages the island. 

“All those residential apartments being constructed on the island have boreholes which disrupt ecosystems and create pathways for pollutants,” said Wemali.

Mombasa Chief Officer Dr Noah Akala said the county allowed the construction of high-rise buildings to accommodate the rising population, which revolves around Mombasa port.

“There is a need to have high-rise buildings with apartments to accommodate the rising population following urbanisation of Mombasa, whose main economic activities revolve around Mombasa port,” said Dr Akala.

He admitted the county government had changed some laws to accommodate changes, saying it may be painful, but it will benefit the residents in the future.

He said Mombasa land was 240,000 square kilometres, and the change in use of land was passed by the defunct Mombasa Municipal Council to create more houses in the city.