COURT GIVES SAKAJA 6 MONTHS TO FORMALISE NAIROBI ZONING RULES ON STOREY BUILDING

The Court of Appeal has given Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja six months to finalise and gazette proper zoning and development control rules, warning that the city’s rapid growth cannot continue without a lawful framework.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, September 19, in the Rhapta Road zoning case, the appellate court said Nairobi has been operating in a “policy vacuum” since the old 2004 zoning guidelines expired and the 2021 Development Control Policy remains unapproved.
The court ruled that the city’s vertical growth must be guided by lawful, transparent, participatory, and capacity-conscious regulations, to be delivered within fixed timelines under judicial supervision.
According to the judges, this gap has created confusion, opacity, and the risk of environmental harm in the city’s building approvals.
“Drawing on Article 23(3) of the Constitution and comparative jurisprudence on supervisory remedies, the Court issued a structural interdict — a measured, time-bound set of supervisory orders — to catalyse lawful plan-making without displacing the County’s constitutional role,” read the ruling in part.
“The structural interdict requires Nairobi City County to complete and gazette the necessary zoning and development control instruments within six months, with interim reporting at three months and a final compliance report (including public participation records) seven days after the six-month period.”
The appellate court stated that reports must be served on the parties and relevant civic stakeholders, who may comment, and that it will retain supervisory powers to ensure compliance. The Court said Nairobi can continue processing building applications using current laws and the 2021 policy as guidance, but once the new zoning rules are officially gazetted, all approvals must follow them.
Any projects already approved and acted upon will not be cancelled unless they are clearly illegal.